I Tried so Very Hard Not to Lose it
by ktdid23
Summary: Jasper Whitlock makes a bet with his friends regarding the new student Bella Swan. But, what Jasper doesn't know is Bella is trying to get past the tragedy that happened to her back in her hometown. Rated M for possible future chapters. AH
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I hope you all enjoy this story. This idea just came to me and wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to post it. :)**

**It's named after a line in the song, **_**Haven't Met You Yet**_**, by Michael Bubl****é****.**

**Summary: Jasper Whitlock makes a bet with his friends regarding the new student Bella Swan. But, what Jasper doesn't know is Bella is trying to get past the tragedy that happened to her back in her hometown.** **AH**

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**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight.**

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BPOV

"Can you believe we won? First year state champs!" My friend Brittany yelled. I laughed as my friends and I all piled into Chelsea's blue BMW M3 convertible. Chelsea undid the top because it was nice out.

Living in Phoenix, Arizona was nice because of this. Even though it was November, it was now in the 80s. I had lived here practically my whole life. I would occasionally visit my dad where he lived in Forks, Washington, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. It was too wet and green in my opinion.

I was used to the dry triple digit heat of summer and the cool temperatures of winter here in Arizona. Not to mention I missed my friends terribly whenever I would stay there too long. It also rained too much in Forks for my taste. The only real times it rained in Arizona was mostly during monsoon season from July to September.

Brittany was practically vibrating in her seat from the excitement of the game. We had just witnessed the first year that our high school had made it to state and won! There would be a massive party at the quarterback, Tony's, house to celebrate and everyone would be there.

"I'm so excited for tonight! I have been in dire need of a good drink and Brit, you can finally make your move on Zack. I'm getting sick of you two constantly making goo goo eyes at one another and not doing anything about it," Sarah said exasperated.

Chelsea laughed as she pulled out of the parking spot. Chelsea, Becky and I all nodded in agreement to Sarah's statement. Brittany rolled her eyes at them but couldn't hold back her own giggle as well.

"What about you and Max?" Brittany asked Sarah in retaliation, with another giggle. "When are you going to 'make your move on him'," she used air quotes to imitate Sarah's words. "I swear, the way he looks at you he is going to jump your bones one of these days." Sarah ducked her head and blushed, while my other friends giggled at her obvious embarrassment.

I pulled a face. "Ew that's just gross Brit! Max is like a brother to me. Please don't put these images in my head!" The others laughed at my discomfort.

"What about you Bells? Any guy you're interested in?" Brittany asked me. I shook my head.

"Nah, I haven't met any guys that really stand out to me like that. I mean I've had my share of flings but nothing serious as you all already know."

"Hmm maybe tonight will change that for you," Becky supplied. I rolled my eyes at her.

Chelsea pulled up in the front of her house where we would all be staying for the night. It was a huge house (if you could even call it that…mansion would be more appropriate). We had all dropped off our things at her house before heading off to the game to cheer for the football team. We were still in our cheerleading uniforms so we needed to come back here to change before going to the party.

The five of us were on the varsity cheerleading squad. Chelsea and I are best friends and sophomores, Brittany and Sarah are juniors, and Becky is a senior.

I had known Chelsea since we were seven. We had gone to the same elementary school and started taking gymnastics together at that age. When Chelsea and I were on the JV squad, we met Sarah and we became close friends with her as well. The three of us tried out for varsity together and met Brittany and Becky once we got on the team. They had been on varsity the year previous.

It was surprising that we only knew Brittany and Becky for a few months considering how close we were with them now. The five of us did everything together.

We all ran up her porch steps, into her house and up the stairs to her room before stripping and changing into our new outfits.

"Oh I forgot!" Chelsea suddenly chimed. "I have something for all of you!"

Brittany, Becky, Sarah, and I all stared at her as she pulled out five silver necklaces with a heart pendant on each of them. She handed one to each of us before securing her own necklace around her neck.

The heart pendant was simple but elegant and on further inspection I discovered that it was actually a locket. I opened the locket up to see a picture that had been taken of the five of us at a photo booth in the mall when we had gone a few weeks ago. I remember we all had to squeeze into the boothe and were practically sitting on each other's laps when this picture was taken. Engraved on the back of the locket were the words "no such thing," based on the song by John Mayer. Whenever this song would come on the radio, we would start belting out the lyrics. Over time, it became our unofficial group song.

All of us were speechless as we appraised the beautiful necklace, before I threw myself at an unsuspecting Chelsea. She laughed as we fell to the floor.

"It's beautiful! But, what's this for? It must have cost a fortune!"

She laughed and got up once I had gotten off her. "Just think of it as an early Christmas present. I couldn't wait any longer. It's kinda like a friendship necklace in a way I guess. This way we all have one."

Chelsea's family is incredibly rich, so it's not a shocker that she would spend this kind of money on us. However, I would always feel kind of bad whenever she would spend money on me because I couldn't reciprocate. I worked as a store clerk at Forever 21 which didn't exactly give me much money when I was being paid minimum wage.

It wasn't long before all of my other friends attacked Chelsea with their own hugs. Chelsea laughed at our appreciation of her gifts.

"I'm glad you guys like them, but we should probably start heading over to Tony's now." We all nodded after fastening the necklaces around our necks. It added the perfect touch to my outfit. I was wearing a blood red spaghetti strap top and some black skinny jeans with black ballet flats that I had gotten at the Forever 21 I work at.

My friends and I headed out the door and hopped into Chelsea's car again. It wasn't much later that we were speeding down the street with the top of the car down, blasting music and singing at the top of our lungs.

Chelsea started dancing crazily in the drivers' seat as she stopped at a red light. The rest of us followed her lead and started bouncing around in our seats. We were laughing at ourselves as the light turned green.

Chelsea started making the left turn onto Cactus Road. She was in the middle of the intersection when I looked over as the sound of screeching tires registered in my mind. Dread filled me as I took in the scene before me. It was as if time slowed down in this moment.

"Chelsea, look out!" I screeched. But, it was too late. She didn't have time to stop, as another car T-boned the side of her M3, on the opposite side of where I was sitting. The next few moments were a mixture of loud noise, blinding lights, and then silence.

The silence that engulfed us was deafening. Then the pain kicked in. So much pain. I tried to move, but something was pinning my leg down. The tiniest movement was excruciating. I tried to open my mouth to ask if the others were okay, but it seemed as though I couldn't get my body to cooperate with me.

I could vaguely hear sirens in the distance and see the outlines of people surrounding the accident scene. I think someone was trying to talk to me, but the darkness was pressing in on me from all sides. I tried to fight it, but it eventually dragged me down as everything went black.

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Beep Beep Beep

Huh, I knew that sound. I just couldn't seem to pinpoint it.

_Beep Beep Beep_

That is really annoying. I wanted to tell someone to put a stop to that noise, but I couldn't seem to move a muscle.

_Beep Beep Beep_

My eyelids felt heavy, but I focused and was finally able to pry them open. I became aware of the white walls and bright lights around me. Oh I'm in the hospital, and that annoying beeping sound was the heart monitor. No wonder that sounded familiar. I've had to be admitted to the hospital on several occasions, especially during my learning stages of gymnastics. I have broken a fair share of bones in my body over the years.

I wonder why I'm here now though. I tried to remember, but everything seemed to be murky and the memory seemed just out of reach. I suddenly became aware of a pressure on my hand. I looked over and saw my mom, Renee, holding it, with her head resting on the bed I was laying on. She looked like she was sleeping. How long had I been here?

I squeezed her hand. At that, her head snapped up and she gasped.

"Oh Bella! Thank God!" She flung her arms around me and started sobbing. I tried not to flinch away, but the pressure she was putting on me hurt. She seemed to notice though and pulled away abruptly.

"Oh honey I'm sorry! I'm just so happy you're awake!" She swiped a hand across her cheeks to get rid of the tears. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace.

"Mom, what happened?" I asked curiously.

She looked at me shocked. "You don't remember?"

I shook my head, but stopped as the movement made me feel dizzy. "I'm trying to, but the memory feels all foggy."

She stared at me with teary eyes. "There was an accident. You were out for eight days! The doctors didn't know whether you would wake up!" She looked as if she was trying to fight back the sobs that were threatening to come out.

Accident? And then it came back to me. The football game we won. The after party I was going to go to. Driving through the intersection. Screeching tires. Pain. Trying to move and see if my friends were alright. Wait…

"Mom, what about the others? Are they okay?" My mom looked at me sympathetically, with tears in her eyes. I shook my head frantically, ignoring the stabbing pain the movement triggered.

"No! They're fine! Everything will go back to the way it always was." My mom shook her head as more tears fell down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry honey. They didn't make it."

"No! I don't believe you! Where are they?"

The beeping on the heart rate monitor started accelerating as my panic grew. They couldn't be gone! It was an impossible idea! We are only in High School. This stuff isn't supposed to happen to people our age!

A nurse came in at that point and smiled when she saw I was awake.

"Hey sweetie. How are you feeling?" I stared at her like she grew three heads. Was she serious? She must have read my expression right because her smile faltered. She cleared her throat and looked down at the chart she was holding.

"Right, well I'm going to give you something for the pain. It will make you sleepy but it should help."

"No," I croaked. "I need to find out how this happened first." I didn't want to sleep when I had so many questions I needed to be answered.

"Bella, we can talk about this later. You need your rest," my mom chimed in.

"No, please." My voice choked over the words. The nurse looked at me and nodded her head.

"Alright, but call me back in when you are ready for your pain medication." With that she swept out of the room.

I looked back over at my mom. "How did this happen? Chels-" my voice broke as I tried to say her name. I cleared my throat. "We had a green light!"

"A boy from your high school ran a red light. Apparently he had been drinking and decided to drive." Her expression turned angry.

"He was on his way to the same party you all were going to when the light turned red. I guess he thought he could make it."

I stared at her in shock. That's why my friends are dead? Tears streamed down my cheeks as I came to that realization. They were dead. They weren't coming back. All of them were gone because of some stupid decision this boy made. I felt my mom wrap her arms around my shoulders, trying to comfort me.

I suddenly became aware of the door opening. I looked up to see my older brother, Jake, walking into the room. Charlie, my dad, followed him in. I was surprised to see my dad here. He must have flown in from Forks.

They both smiled at me when they caught my eye, but it seemed a little forced.

Charlie came over and took the seat on the other side of where my mom was, and picked up my hand in his. He looked like he wanted to cry, but was trying to stay strong.

"Sorry we weren't here earlier. Jake and I went to the cafeteria. We were trying to get your mom to come with us and get something to eat, but she refused to leave your side." I glanced at my mom. She looked like she hadn't eaten or slept in days.

"A nurse came and told us you were awake," Charlie explained in a soft voice. I couldn't do more than nod to show that I understood.

"Mom, why don't you go to the cafeteria? I'll be fine." She nodded and stood. Once she left the room I turned to Charlie.

"Dad, why don't you go with her? She's a mess and could probably use someone to talk to now." It was funny that I said that considering I was probably more of a mess than her. But, he nodded and left after her, leaving Jake and me alone.

Jake came over to my side and sat down in the chair there. He picked up my hand and squeezed. Jake and I are incredibly close. He would tease me occasionally but what older brother doesn't? He looked at me with shiny eyes. Wow. Jake never cries. He must be really upset to be this close to tears.

"God, you scared me Bells."

"Sorry," I whispered.

"Yeah, well don't do that to me again. I don't know what I would do without my baby sister."

I looked away and thought over a question that I was wondering about.

"Jake, what happened to the guy who hit us?" My voice cracked as I asked my question.

A furious expression took over his face. "That piece of shit got away with a few scrapes and bruises. Other than that, he was arrested for DUI and manslaughter." I swallowed and looked down at my lap.

"He will be put away for a long time," Jake said as he rested his hand on my shoulder.

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The following months after the accident were a blur. It turns out that I had bashed my head against the side of the window in the accident. I was now sporting a rather long scar near my hairline on the side of my forehead. This is why I decided to get side bangs. The bangs covered the scar so that no one could see it. I was told that I had sustained a concussion which had caused me to slip into a coma. Luckily, they were able to stop the bleeding.

The students and teachers at school were extremely nice and sympathetic once I returned. I would get smiles and sympathetic looks when I walked down the halls at school. This irritated me to no end. I didn't want anyone's sympathy. I was the one to survive. My friends were the ones who weren't so lucky. I still don't understand why I was the one to live when the other ones didn't. I kept asking myself, "why me?"

The school decided to hold an assembly in memory of my friends. There was now a large plaque hanging on the wall of the gym with each of their names on it. Toward the beginning of the assembly, I had to leave. I couldn't handle other people talking about my friends like they knew them. I know the administration had the best intentions in mind, but I just couldn't stomach it.

That was when my first panic attack occurred. I was trying to calm down on a bench outside, when flashes of the accident started running through my mind. Before I knew it, my breathing became more and more shallow until I was gasping for air. I started to shake uncontrollably and felt as if my heart would pound out of my chest. I tried standing to go to the nurse, but I fell back down from the dizziness that followed. I ended up fainting on the sidewalk.

When I woke up, I found myself laying on the cot in the nurse's office. She explained that someone saw me on the sidewalk, and called for the nurse. I had three more attacks before my mom took me to see a doctor. The doctor ended up diagnosing me with Panic disorder (a condition in which a person undergoes multiple panic attacks). She explained that many people contract this disorder after experiencing a traumatic incident. The panic attacks can be triggered by something that reminds the person of the horrible experience they had gone through.

The doctor prescribed me Lexapro, an anti-depresant and anti-anxiety medication, as well as Xanax. I was only supposed to use the Xanax when I was starting to experience a panic attack. It was supposed to be very addictive if I used it more than that and it also made me sleepy. The doctor warned me not to drive when on it. The medication seemed to help me a lot but I would still experience the beginnings of these attacks before I would calm down, thanks to the Xanax.

I never took the locket Chelsea gave me off. I noticed that sometimes it would calm me down when I wore it. I couldn't bring myself to look at the picture inside, but whenever I wore it, I felt as if my friends were here with me. I know that may sound crazy but that thought consoled me.

Over the last few weeks of my Sophomore year, I began realizing that a lot of the problem with me panicking may be because of the memories I have with my friends here. With that in mind, I decided to talk to my mom. I found her in the kitchen, trying to make one of her own concoctions for dinner. She smiled when she saw me.

"Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?"

She nodded so I continued, "I've been thinking this through these past few days and I want to go live with dad in Forks. I can start my junior year there."

My mom's smile faltered but she nodded.

"I thought you might want to." This surprised me. I guess my mom was more perceptive than I realized.

Jake ambled into the kitchen at this point. "You're leaving?" He sounded sad.

I nodded. "There are too many memories here and I can't handle it now. I think this is for the best."

"Then I'm coming with you," Jake said abruptly. I stared at him with my mouth gaping open. I didn't expect him to say that.

"Jake, you don't need to do that. I mean, you have friends here. What about them?" He shook his head and smiled.

"You're more important than them. Besides, what kind of older brother would I be if I let my little sister handle a new school on her own, especially after what happened?" I was surprised that he would be willing to go to a new school for his senior year. I looked over at my mom thinking she would object, but she surprised me.

"I think that's a good idea Jake. I'll call your father tonight and tell him about your decision."

I felt bad about leaving her. But, she had started dating this guy named Phil a few months ago so I knew she wouldn't be alone.

I looked at Jake and smiled my first real smile since the accident.

"Well then, I guess we're going to Forks."

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AN: Next chapter will have Jasper in it. Please review and let me know what you think about this one!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and alerts! **

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**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight.**

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BPOV

I squealed as I looked out my bedroom window to see the truck pulling into our driveway. "Jake! Our cars are finally here!"

Jake and I had opted to take a flight from Phoenix to Forks instead of driving. We figured it would allow us to arrive a lot sooner as well as not rack up miles on our cars. We ended up having them delivered to us in one of those car carrier trucks instead. Charlie had greeted us at the airport but had to leave for the station, since he is the police chief of Forks, soon after he had dropped us off at our home. This had left Jake and I bored out of our minds. We couldn't leave the house since we didn't have our cars with us.

My baby was a blue Toyota Corolla which I had gotten from my parents for my sixteenth birthday last year. Jake received an old rabbit. My parents had asked what he wanted as his car and he ended up picking this one. He had a lot of fun working with it and "pimping it out" as he so eloquently put it.

I bolted down the stairs, Jake right on my tail, and yanked the door open enthusiastically. I had been sick of not being able to drive myself anywhere these past few days. I came face to face with a middle aged man as the door opened all the way. His eyes widened at my sudden appearance, but he composed himself rather quickly.

"Is there a Miss Isabella Swan and a Mr. Jacob Swan here?" I nodded and gestured to myself and Jake who was standing beside me now.

"Alright, I need both of you to sign this." He handed us a clipboard with a page attached. I scribbled my signature down and handed it to Jake who did the same.

"Have a nice day you two," the man said and then turned to leave. We waited until he had gotten back in his truck and had driven out of the driveway and then ran to our separate cars.

"Hey Jake, let's go into town. I need to get out! I'm bored," I whined. Jake laughed but nodded his head vigorously at my suggestion.

"Okay, but we're taking my car."

"But I wanted to drive!" It had been too long since I had driven my baby.

"Tell you what, let's flip on it." He pulled a coin out and looked at me, waiting for me to pick a side.

"Heads," I sighed.

He flipped it and looked down, a wide smile breaking out across his face. I groaned.

"I guess we're taking my rabbit!" I huffed and climbed into the passenger seat.

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We decided to drive to Port Angeles for the day since there wasn't much to do in Forks. Once we arrived, Jake drove around while we looked at the shops out of the windows. A smile broke out across my face as I noticed a bookstore. I hit Jake's arm (maybe a little too hard in my eagerness) to get his attention.

"Bella! What the fuck was that for?" He glared at me. I shrugged and pointed to the bookstore. He sighed and nodded.

"Fine. But does that mean you've finally had it with your copy of Wuthering Heights? Seriously, I don't know how you can even like that book." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I don't know how you _don't _like it," I huffed. He laughed as he pulled into a parallel parking spot near the bookstore. He hopped out once he put the car in park. I followed him and opened the door, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

I was about to start walking to the shop when I saw the car parked in front of ours. It was a BMW M3 convertible. It was the exact same car Chelsea had, except this one was red. I started trembling as I realized it was the same type of car I had been in the last time I had seen my friends alive.

Suddenly I was no longer in Port Angeles. I was back in Arizona, in Chelsea's M3 as we moved into the intersection turning onto Cactus Rd. I was watching as a car barreled into us, hearing the terrified screams of my friends. I came back to reality, gasping for air and shaking violently. My heart was beating erratically as flashes of the accident passed through my mind.

"Jake," I gasped. I tried telling him I couldn't breathe but I couldn't get any more words past my lips. I was gasping for air, not being able to get enough into my lungs. Jake spun around at the sound of me hyperventilating. He had grown accustomed to me having these attacks, so he knew what to do.

He was by my side in a blink of an eye and opened the passenger side door to his car. He pushed me so I was sitting on the car seat with my legs still outside. Once I was seated, he pushed on my back until I was bent over with my head between my knees.

"Where are your pills?" He demanded. I gestured to my purse with a trembling hand, since it was the only answer I could seem to make at the moment. He snatched my purse up and started frantically searching for them.

As my breathing became more labored, I started seeing black spots clouding my vision. I knew I was on the verge of passing out and almost cried in relief as I felt Jake shove one of the Xanax pills into my hand. Without a second thought, I shoved it in my mouth and swallowed. Jake pressed a water bottle, that had been in the cup holder of his car, into my hand and I greedily drank down half the bottle. Living in Arizona for so long put us in the habit of carrying around water wherever we went, if you didn't want to get dehydrated that is.

Jake rubbed my back soothingly for several minutes as we waited for the medication to kick in. Geez! The way I relied on these pills made me feel like a junkie or something. I couldn't seem to get by a whole week without shoving a Xanax down my throat. Rationally, I knew that I actually had a medical condition that warranted the use of these pills, but it didn't make me feel like any less of a freak.

After I felt the effects of the pills and I had calmed down, I lifted my head from my knees. Jake stared into my eyes with a furrowed brow. I knew I worried him when this would happen. Seeing his little sister having constant panic attacks must be hard on him. I wished he didn't have to see me like this. He was still crouched down in front of me, wearing a concerned expression.

"I should get you home." I shook my head forcefully from side to side. I would not let my issues ruin our day. I felt pathetic enough as it is.

"No Jake. I feel better, promise." I gave him my best pouty look that I knew was impossible to resist. He sighed exasperated.

"Bells, you know those pills make you groggy." I shrugged.

"I'll tell you what. As soon as I feel like I'm too tired to walk, I'll let you know and we can leave." He sighed but reluctantly nodded. I grinned and stood up. I looked around to see if there was anyone nearby that may have seen my breakdown and was relieved to find no one in my line of sight.

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Once we entered the bookstore, we each went separate ways to browse the books. Jake had left me to go to the thriller section. He couldn't seem to get enough of the horror books. I made my way to the classics section and began looking through their selection. I smiled as I picked up a copy of Pride and Prejudice. I loved Jane Austen's work.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I jumped, startled and turned to see the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes on. He towered over my 5'4" at about 6'3" and had the softest looking honey blonde hair that I just wanted to run my fingers through. He stared at me with his baby blue eyes that I could see myself getting lost in. He continued on as he noticed the blank stare I was giving him.

"I noticed you outside earlier. It looked like you were upset or something."

I felt my cheeks flush. Great someone actually _had_ witnessed my full blown panic attack. And it wasn't just anyone either! It had to be this hottie standing before me. How embarrassing!

I tried to think of something to say. I didn't want to sound all pathetic by telling him I was having a panic attack because I saw a car. That would make me look like a freak, unless I told him about the accident which I had no intention of doing. I came here to start over, not to rehash the past.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just saw a bee and it freaked me out," I gave a nervous laugh. For some reason it didn't sit right with me to lie to him. I'll have to think about that later.

"I'd say. You looked absolutely petrified." I blushed even more. If only he knew…

"Yeah I'm deathly afraid of them." He laughed at this.

"Well at least you didn't get stung." He squinted at me as if he was just seeing me.

"Wait, you're the new girl, the chief's daughter. Isabella Swan, right?" I quirked a brow at him.

"How did you know?" He laughed and waved a hand dismissively.

"People around here like to gossip. Everyone has been talking about the arrival of the two kids of the chief of police." I rolled my eyes at this, annoyed. He seemed amused at my expression.

"So I'm assuming I'm right then? You're Isabella Swan?" He confirmed. I nodded.

"Yeah but I go by Bella."

"Well Bella, it's nice to meet you. I'm Jasper."

He stuck out his hand. I smiled and placed my hand in his. I thought he would just shake it, but he brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. I was trying hard not to dwell on the feel of his lips against my skin, and the reaction my body seemed to have at the contact. I started picturing other areas he could have his lips on. _Stop it Bella!_ I scolded myself.

In an attempt to stop the inappropriate thoughts from circling in my head, I shifted my eyes and caught sight of a blonde beauty making her way over to where we were standing. I could see a few guys drooling as she passed them. She was about 5'8" with long legs and gorgeous features that would make any model jealous. My heart plummeted as she came to a stop by us and rested a hand on his arm. That was a weird reaction for me to have about some guy I just met…

"Jazz, are you ready to go?" She asked him, not even acknowledging my presence. Jasper nodded to her and then turned his gaze back to me.

"Bella, this is my sister Rosalie," he explained. It unnerved me how relieved I felt after he said that. I smiled at her and held out my hand.

"It's nice to meet you," I said politely. She just stared at my hand and shrugged before starting to walk away. I dropped my hand back to my side. Okay, well that was rude.

"I'm going to wait out at my car. If you aren't there in five minutes you'll have to walk home," she called over her shoulder. Jasper just rolled his eyes and stared at me again.

"I'm sorry about Rose. She can be a real bitch sometimes." He could say that again. I shrugged.

"It's fine," I gave him a small smile which he returned.

"Well I better go before she leaves without me. I'd rather not have to walk all the way back when it looks like it'll rain at any second." He looked out the window. I looked too and sure enough, the sky was overcast. He looked back down at me.

"Are you going to be at school on Monday?" He looked hopeful. Maybe that was just my imagination. I nodded in answer to his question.

"Good. I'll see you later then Bella," Jasper said. He gave me another smile before walking away. I smiled as I headed to the checkout counter to pay for my book. I couldn't help but think that school on Monday wouldn't be quite as bad as I had originally anticipated.

After Jake and I had paid for our books (he bought some werewolf book) we left to go home. I was feeling increasingly drowsy due to the Xanax and felt as if I might fall over at any second. Once we got to the house, I practically crawled up the stairs to get ready for bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out cold.

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The last week of summer vacation passed by in a blur. Before I knew it, it was the night before that dreaded first day of school and I was getting ready for bed. Once I had changed into the shorts and tank top I wear to bed, I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

I couldn't help but be nervous about what would happen the next morning. I bet I would make a fool out of myself and then be treated like a leper the rest of my high school days. If my friends were still here, they would reprimand me for being so brooding. I could almost picture Sarah rolling her eyes at my attitude and Brittany smacking me upside the head, trying to knock some sense into me. But then again, if my friends were here I wouldn't be such a nervous wreck in the first place. I sighed as I started brushing my hair.

I stared at my reflection as I brought the brush to my bangs and swept them out of the way. The long, white scar stood out on my forehead as a constant reminder of what happened that horrible night less than a year ago. And just like that, I was pulled back into the vortex of misery and hopelessness of which I had grown accustomed to.

I felt the familiar tears running down my cheeks as I looked at the revolting mark in the mirror. No matter how much I tried to move on, something always reminded me of the accident. Frustrated with myself, I pushed my bangs back to cover the hideous scar and headed back to my room.

Tears continued to fall as I got into bed. Nights were the worse for me since I didn't have anything to distract me from the memories. I always wonder why I was the one to walk away from the accident. I was told that if I had been in any other seat, I wouldn't have been as lucky. When I was told this, I couldn't help scoffing. Lucky? I certainly didn't feel "lucky."

I missed the days when my biggest problem was who to take to the school dance. That thought got me thinking about prom. My friends and I had all talked about going to prom together with our dates once we were juniors. We would get a group together and rent a stretch limo for the night. Maybe we would have gone somewhere nice for dinner before heading to the dance in our elegant dresses. Now, it was junior year, the year we will finally be allowed to go to the anticipated event and my friends can't.

I pulled the covers up and curled up on my side. Over the months, I learned to keep my crying silent. I didn't want to worry anyone more than they already were.

The nightmares were a different story. In my dreams, I would relive the accident frequently. However, a lot of times my dreams would change from what actually happened. Sometimes I would see my friends broken and bleeding next to me. Every time this happened, I would wake up screaming and gasping for air. On many occasions I would have to resort to taking a Xanax to calm me down.

My family members stopped running into my room when they heard my screams. They never mentioned it the next morning, but I always caught the concerned glances that they tried to conceal from me.

I tried not to think about the coming school day. I know I chose to come here but I was still nervous about it. I just prayed that I wouldn't have a panic attack at school. No matter how much I didn't want to admit it, I was scared out of my mind. Chelsea was always there whenever I changed schools. Now, she wouldn't be. We were best friends and even went to the same middle school and high school together. It felt weird to be going to another school without her by my side.

I reached a shaky hand up to my neck and clutched my locket. I never took it off except when I was in the shower. I didn't want it to get rusty from the water.

I needed to stop this before I end up getting bags under my eyes from all the crying I'm doing. I'm already going to be considered the outsider since I'll be the "new girl." I bet all of the students went to the same school since Kindergarten. I wouldn't be surprised in a town this small.

As the last tear dripped down my cheek, I closed my eyes. My last thought as I drifted to sleep was about the dreaded first day of school and the possible horrors it may hold.

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AN: This chapter was meant to give more insight into the issues that Bella is currently facing. I wanted to show more about the struggles she is going through before I really get into the story. But bear with me, it should be picking up soon.

**I'm thinking about making the next chapter in Jasper's POV but I haven't decided yet. **

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I am so sorry for the long wait! I had a major case of writer's block. I know where I want this story to go, but getting there has been kind of tricky for me. I made this chapter longer than I normally would to make up for it. :) **

**I was going to make it shorter, but I wanted to fit Bella's first day of school in one chapter, hope you guys don't mind.**

**Originally, I was going to make this chapter in Jasper's POV but it seemed a little too soon to do that, so this one is going to be in Bella's POV still. I'm definitely making the next one in his point of view though. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and alerts! They make me happy! :)**

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**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight**

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BPOV

I woke up to the annoying beeping of my alarm clock. I groaned and rolled over onto my back and reached up a hand to hit the snooze button. It was way too early to be up. I closed my eyes and attempted to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

A sudden bang jolted me into a sitting position on my bed.

"Oh good, you're up." Jake grinned at me in the doorway of my room.

"Was that really necessary Jake?" I asked, exasperated. Apparently he thought it would be funny to attempt tearing down my door in order to get me up. That's what I assumed the loud noise was from. He laughed at my annoyed expression.

"Yes, especially when you are so fond of that snooze button." Jake knew of my weakness for snooze buttons only too well. What can I say? I'm definitely not a morning person.

I rolled my eyes and threw my pillow at him which he neatly dodged.

"Fine I'm getting up." I couldn't control the whine in my voice. I'm never in the best of moods in the morning…

"Now get out of my room so I can get ready."

"Yes your majesty." Jake mock bowed. After another projectile had been hurled at his head courtesy of moi, and with another chuckle, he left me to my own devices.

I groaned as I stood up and stretched, hearing a satisfying pop in my lower back region. I went over to my closet and searched through my clothes. Nothing stood out as first day of school material. I was getting frustrated when I came across the new outfit my mom bought me a few weeks ago when I was still in Phoenix. The tags were still even on it.

I pulled it out and smiled. It was perfect for today. It was a simple blue scoop neck top with a white mid thigh skirt. I picked out some matching blue wedges to wear with it.

After dressing, I went down the hall into the bathroom and looked at my appearance. The silver heart shaped locket added just the perfect touch to my outfit. I decided to leave my hair down and applied some mascara and black eyeliner before I was satisfied with how I looked.

I finally made my way down the stairs to see Dad and Jake in the kitchen.

"Morning Bells," Dad greeted once he saw me. I yawned and grunted in response. The two of them laughed. Apparently, me being only semiconscious in the morning was amusing to them. I went over to the table and poured a bowl of Life cereal. After I sat down, Dad turned to face me.

"How are you feeling Bells?" Dad asked, a serious expression taking over his features. I knew what he was asking.

"I'll be fine today." I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Alright kiddo. But, if you have any problems today I want you to call me. Deal?" I sighed but nodded in acceptance.

I miss the days where I could go through a full day without my family worrying about me having another panic attack. I hated that I was the one to make them so worried all the time. Dad stood up and clapped Jake and me on the shoulder.

"Well, I need to get to the station. Have a good day at school you two," Dad addressed the two of us before heading out the door.

Pretty soon it was time for us to leave also.

"You ready Bells?" Jake asked, after cleaning up his dishes in the sink. I nodded and cleaned up my dishes after he was done.

"Yep, but we're taking my car today." Jake's face fell at my words and I stifled a laugh at his reaction.

"It's only fair. We took your car to Port Angeles. Now I get to drive us to school."

"Fine," Jake huffed. I laughed and followed him out to my car.

* * *

"So, you ready to make our grand entrance?" Jake asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh come on Bells! These people have probably been talking about the new kids for a while now. We might as well give them something to see and show them what cool is!"

"And you classify yourself in this 'cool' category?" I asked, putting air quotes around the word 'cool.'

"Well duh!" I laughed and shook my head at him.

He put his hand on the car door handle to get out, when I put my hand on his arm to stop him.

"If you do anything to embarrass me today, I'm going to draw a dick on your Megan Fox cut out," I threatened in a serious voice.

Jake looked horror stricken at my threat. He has a life-size cardboard cutout of Megan Fox in his room that he is very proud of. You would think I had just announced an imminent apocalypse with the way he was looking at me now.

"Not funny," Jake huffed. I shook my head at him as the two of us climbed out of my car.

As we headed in the direction of the office to get checked in, I became aware of the stares we were receiving. It was a little unnerving the way everyone in the parking lot seemed to stop what they were doing and stare at us as we passed.

I tried my best to ignore the attention, while Jake was doing the opposite. He was practically strutting as he walked next to me and would wink at an occasional girl we would pass. I made a face when I saw a bunch of girls shamelessly ogling him. I became aware of a few guys wolf whistling at me as well. I rolled my eyes and was thankful when we finally made it inside the office.

Jake and I made our way up to the front desk where a nice looking older woman was sitting. Her nametag said that her name was Ms. Cope. She smiled when she saw us.

"What can I do for you?"

"My brother and I are new today," I replied.

"Oh what are your names?"

"Isabella and Jacob Swan," I answered.

She started shuffling through some papers on her desk until she grabbed two folders and handed them to us.

"Here you go. Your timetables are in there as well as the school syllabus and your locker assignment and combination number." She paused as if in thought. "Would you like me to draw you a map to help you find your way around?" I shook my head.

"I think we'll be able to figure it out. Thanks." She nodded.

"Alright, well you both need to get your teachers to sign your timetables and bring them back here at the end of the day. Have a good day you two."

We both thanked her and left. I looked down at the timetable to see what classes I had:

1st period: Pre-calculus with Mr. Mason

2nd period: Spanish 7-8 with Mrs. Hernandez

3rd period: American History with Mr. Moore

4th period: Senior English with Mrs. Anderson

5th period: lunch

6th period: Biology with Mr. Banner

7th period: Gym with Coach Clapp

I groaned at seeing I had Pre-calc first. I hated math with a passion. I couldn't seem to get it. Jake looked over at my schedule after he had finished reading his.

"Huh, they put you in senior English. I guess it's not surprising considering how much you love to read and write."

"Yeah but I wonder what English class I'll have to take next year though," I speculated. "I should probably talk to an advisor about that." As we made our way down the hallway, Jake glanced at me.

"What's your locker number?"

I opened the folder back up and noticed that my locker number and combination had been written on the inside of the folder.

"I have locker #53, you?"

"45," he said simply. "Here I am," Jake said as we neared locker #45. I walked another eight lockers down before I reached mine and put the combination in. I set my bag inside my locker after I had grabbed the books I would need for my first class, pre-calc. Ugh.

Jake walked back over to me once he had taken care of his stuff.

"It's weird having lockers now." I nodded in agreement. The high school we went to in Arizona didn't have lockers.

"Yeah, but it's kind of nice."

It was then that the bell rang signaling us to get to class.

"Meet up with you at lunch?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, I'll meet you outside the cafeteria." Jake nodded and the two of us had to go in separate directions to get to our classes.

Once I had gotten to the door leading to my first class, I paused and took a deep breath before opening it and walking inside.

Some people stared as I walked up to the teacher and handed him my timetable.

"Uh I need you to sign this," I said hesitantly.

Mr. Mason gave me a smile and took the paper I handed him before jotting down his signature.

"Choose any seat you want, it will be your permanent seat this year." I nodded and chose a seat next to a short girl with spiky black hair. The girl turned to me once I sat down.

"Hi! I'm Alice." The girl with the spiky hair introduced herself. I smiled.

"I'm Bella." She grinned.

"Yeah I know. You're the new girl everyone's been talking about."

"Oh great," I mumbled. She laughed.

"How are you liking Forks?" I shrugged.

"It's alright. A lot different than Arizona though." She smiled.

"Yeah I can imagine. Hey!" I jumped at her sudden outburst. "You should sit with me and my friends at lunch today!" She started bouncing in her seat enthusiastically. How can just one person have this much energy?

"Uh sure," I agreed. Her smile got impossibly wider.

"Can I see your schedule?" I nodded and passed it to her.

"We have gym together!" She squealed. I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Oh and you also have History and gym with Rose." I laughed.

"Did you memorize your friends' schedules or something?" She smiled but looked back down at my schedule in her hand without answering.

"Oh and it looks like you have English with Jasper." I stared at her when she said that last one.

"Jasper?" I asked. Wasn't that the hottie I saw in the bookstore? Alice nodded slowly.

"Do you know him?"

"Yeah…well kind of. I met him in Port Angeles." I blushed when I remembered how my body seemed to react to him. Alice stared at me for a moment before frowning.

"Bella…" She hesitated. "Don't get me wrong when I say this because I love Jasper like a brother, but he has a reputation around here."

"What do you mean?"

"He's pretty much a player. He likes to hook-up with girls and then drop them after he's finished with them. I just don't want to see you get hurt." I blinked.

"Why would I get hurt? It's not like I like him or anything." Alice raised her eyebrows at me.

"I only just met him Alice!" She put her hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Okay, but just be careful. You might want to also watch yourself around my brother, Edward. He's a lot like Jasper in that way, but I don't want to think about that because he's my brother." She wrinkled her nose and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped out of my mouth. "You'll meet him at lunch," she added.

Suddenly, the bell rang starting class and putting an end to our conversation. I thought about what Alice said. I didn't like Jasper, right? I only just met him that one time in Port Angeles, but I had never reacted like that around any other guy before. This was ridiculous! Even if I _did_ like him, he wouldn't want anything to do with me once he got to know me. I have too much baggage. I mean, I can't even go through a week without panicking about something. I shook my head and tried to focus on what the teacher was saying instead.

After class got out, I headed off to my Spanish class. I repeated the process of giving my timetable to the teacher, Mrs. Hernandez, before choosing a seat behind a girl with bushy brown hair. She turned around and appraised me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, feeling somewhat like a science experiment under her scrutiny.

"You're Isabella, the new girl," she stated, rather than asked. I was getting increasingly annoyed with how that was the first thing most people have said to me around here.

I saw people turn around in their seats trying to listen in on our conversation. It seemed to me that Jessica liked the attention we were being given. She had a gleam in her eyes as she took in the students watching us.

"Bella," I corrected her. She smiled and extended her hand.

"I'm Jessica." I shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you," I said politely. She nodded her head, like it was an honor for me to be talking with her. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I got a feeling I would not get along with her.

"So what do you think of Forks, Bella?"

I got the feeling she was the gossiper of the school. The way she posed her question made me feel like she was digging for something so she could gossip later on.

"It's alright. I wish it wasn't so wet though." Jessica gave a fake sounding laugh at this, even though I couldn't think of anything that was funny about what I said.

"Yeah, it rains a lot here."

_Well no duh_, I thought. The people around us started laughing and Jessica looked offended. Shit! I guess I said that out loud.

"Uh sorry," I muttered. She smiled, but it looked forced. She appraised me again.

"So, would you like to sit with me at lunch? I can introduce you to my friends," she said as if she was doing me a big favor.

"Oh thanks for the offer but I already told someone else that I would sit with them."

She looked put out for a moment. I can only guess that she wanted me to sit with her so she would get more attention having the new girl at her table.

"Who was it?"

"Alice." She gave me a disbelieving look.

"Alice? Alice _Cullen_?" I nodded and I watched as her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline.

"But no one sits with her and her friends!" I gave her a weird look.

"Why?"

"Because they think they are better than everyone else," a male voice said from beside me. I turned and saw a guy sitting down at the empty desk next to mine. He had a boyish face with spiky gelled blonde hair.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Alice seemed nice to me.

"They seem to think they're perfect just because they're popular. What a load of shit," the boy said with a look of disgust. "I'm Mike by the way," he added with a smile. He looked me up and down and licked his lips. I internally cringed at this. "I'm assuming your Isabella Swan."

"Bella," I muttered, for what seemed like the hundredth time today.

"So why were you two talking about them for anyways?" He asked.

"Apparently Alice Cullen invited Bella to sit with her at lunch today," Jessica answered him. I could detect an undercurrent of jealousy in her tone.

I was starting to like them less and less. It felt like they were personally insulting me when they talked about them this way. I had only met a couple of the so called "popular" people briefly, but I had an urge to defend them anyway. But before I could say anything, Mrs. Hernandez addressed the class.

"Hola clase. Atención por favor."

Everyone stopped talking and faced the front of the class. I was relieved to have a reason to not talk to Jessica and Mike. They were seriously grating on my nerves. When the bell rang I practically ran out of the room to get away from them.

This happened to make me early to my History class. The class was nearly empty when I arrived. After the teacher signed my timetable, I chose a seat near the back. Pretty soon the other students filed in. Right before the bell was about to ring, Rosalie waltzed into the room, looking like she just stepped out of a Vogue magazine. The guys in the class were blatantly checking her out but she ignored them as she went to get a seat.

She stopped when she realized the only open desk was next to me. She looked around the room before sighing and taking the seat, completely ignoring my presence. She continued ignoring my existence throughout the class. The only time she acknowledged me was when I started tapping my pen against the desk while I was filling out some sort of evaluation (apparently the teacher wanted to know how well we knew our history). She glared at me until I got the hint and held my pen still.

Before I knew it, it was time for English, my class with Jasper. When I walked into the room I saw him sitting near the back. He looked shocked when he saw me but smiled and waved me over, motioning at a desk next to him. After the teacher signed my timetable, I made my way over to him.

"Hey Bella," he greeted me as if we knew each other for a long time. I smiled and sat down.

"So what are you doing in this class? Aren't you a junior?" I nodded.

"Yep, but apparently I have the requirements to be in here I guess." He smiled.

"So how has your first day been going?"

"It's going alright. I met Alice this morning. She invited me to eat lunch with you guys today." His smile got bigger. I couldn't help but stare at his lips. I suddenly realized he was talking to me. Ugh I think I just got dazzled…

"Uh sorry. What were you saying?" I asked with a blush covering my cheeks. He smirked.

"I was just saying that that's cool. Also that I'll be a little late at lunch. My coach wants to run over some strategies with us or something for this season." He rolled his eyes when he said that.

"Coach?" I asked curiously.

"Oh yeah, I'm on the football team here. I'm actually the captain so I can't ditch this meeting or anything, although now I wish I could," He looked at me pointedly and smiled.

I blushed as I stared into his eyes. He smirked at my reaction. Damn it! I got dazzled again! I shook my head to clear it. I was saved when the teacher began class.

At the end of class, I stared at the list of books we would be reading this semester. Some of them were 1984 by George Orwell, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Othello (got to love Shakespeare).

"Are you planning on sitting here all day?" Jasper teased, breaking me out of my thoughts. I smiled up at him, seeing that we were the only ones left in the room, besides the teacher.

"Is it weird that I read all of these books on the list already?" He looked shocked by this.

"Wow you really like to read, huh?" I laughed and nodded. We headed out of the room where Jasper stopped and faced me.

"Well I got to go to that meeting. I'll see you at lunch in a little bit, OK?" I nodded.

With another smile from Jasper, he headed off down the hallway.

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While I waited for Jake in the hallway near the cafeteria doors, I noticed a bulletin board with numerous amounts of papers posted on it. To kill some time while I waited for him, I walked up to it and saw that most of the papers were things like school announcements and things to try out for as well as upcoming events. Suddenly, one of the papers on the bulletin board caught my attention. It was practically calling out to me. Could I do this? A sudden hand on my shoulder made me jump. I spun around to see Jake's smiling face.

"What were you looking at?" He asked as he steered me in the direction of the cafeteria.

"Oh it was nothing." There was apparently something in my voice that caused Jake to give me a funny look, but he didn't press the matter for which I was thankful.

"Hey, I promised a girl in my class that we would sit with her and her friends at lunch. Is that okay?" Jake nodded.

As soon as we stepped through the cafeteria doors, I heard my name being called loudly.

"Bella! Over here!"

I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Alice waving us over. She was sitting at a table with Rosalie and a huge guy with massive muscles. He had his arm thrown casually over Rosalie's shoulders.

I grew uncomfortable as people turned their heads in our direction after Alice had yelled for us across the lunch room. Jake and I exchanged a glance before heading to their table.

"Hey Bella! How have your classes been?" Alice asked with a bright smile. I noticed Rosalie glaring at me. Geez. What's her problem? I shrugged it off and smiled at Alice.

"They were OK," I said with a shrug. "So is this your brother?" I asked, turning to the huge guy sitting at the table. He chuckled but shook his head no.

"Nah, she only wishes she was my sister, right short stuff?" He ruffled her hair and received a death glare from Alice.

"Don't mess with my hair!" I covered up my laughter with a cough.

"I'm Emmett," he said to me.

"Bella," I said with a shy smile. "And this is my brother Jake." I motioned to Jake who had been quiet during the introductions.

Wait. Something's wrong. Jake's never quiet. I turned and looked at him completely baffled. He was staring at Alice with a glazed over look in his eyes. I wonder what that is about. I hit him, not too gently, on the arm. That snapped him out of it.

"Hey!" Jake glared at me. I shrugged.

"You were kind of spacing out there. Care to fill us in on what you were thinking about?" Jake blushed. Wow now I've seen everything. Jake never blushes! I shook my head in amazement.

Alice smiled at him and seemed to get that glazed over look in her eyes as well. I wonder if there is something in the school's drinking water or something. They are both acting strange. Alice seemed to snap out of it and cleared her throat before looking back at me.

"You'll meet Edward soon. He's with Jasper in some meeting. They're both on the football team," Alice explained.

Not long after she said this, a guy who I presume to be Edward took the seat next to me. He was pretty attractive too, but he didn't cause my body to react like Jasper did. He had messy looking bronze hair and emerald green eyes and looked about the same height as Jasper. He turned to me and gave me a crooked smile.

Just then Jasper showed up. He looked from me to Edward and an expression that looked suspiciously like disappointment crossed his face. I'll have to think about that later. He ended up taking the seat next to his sister instead. He winked at me when he saw me looking at him. I swear I became wet at the sight. He smirked, as if he knew what effect he had on me.

"So, you're the new girl I've been hearing so much about." I was interrupted in my ogling by Edward. I turned to face him and he held out his hand. I took it thinking he would drop it after shaking my hand, but he intertwined our fingers together and held it in his lap.

"I guess so," I smiled hesitantly. "I'm Bella. You must be Edward?" He nodded, still holding onto my hand.

I didn't know what to do. I kind of wanted my hand back but he didn't seem to want to give it up. I looked at Jasper and was surprised at what I saw. He looked like he wanted to rip Edward's head off. I wonder what that is about. When he caught me looking at him he smiled at me again.

I suddenly got that feeling like I was being watched. I looked to the side and noticed that Jessica and Mike were sitting a few tables away with some other people and they both were looking over at me.

"What is up with them?" I murmured to myself. The others looked over in their direction when I said that.

"Oh, Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton," Alice said, rolling her eyes. "I take it you met them?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I met them in my Spanish class. Are they always that annoying?" The others laughed and even Rosalie cracked a smile.

"Pretty much," Alice laughed. We soon fell into easy conversation.

Pretty soon the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. We all headed off to our separate classes.

In my biology class, I got paired with a quiet girl named Angela for my lab partner. She seemed like a genuinely nice person. We spent our time listening to Mr. Banner go over the safety rules of the lab and about the kinds of labs we would be doing this year.

After biology, I had gym where the coach broke us up into teams and had us playing volleyball. While I was in Gym, I started thinking about that sign I saw in the hallway before lunch. For some reason thoughts of that sign kept coming back to nag me. As I was changing back into my normal clothes after gym, I made up my mind.

Once I left the gymnasium, I walked down the hallway and right up to the sign on the wall with a pen held firmly in my hand. This is what I need to do. I need to move on with my life. I know my friends would agree with me.

I always thought that I wouldn't ever do this again. It would feel weird without my friends there with me. But this is something I enjoy doing, and a part of me felt like if I did this I could get better. Taking this one small step felt huge to me.

With a slightly shaky hand, I reached up and signed my name at the end of the list. I released a breath and smiled when I realized I was actually going to do this. I turned around and walked away from the sign reading "varsity cheerleading tryouts."

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AN: Again, I'm so so so sorry for the delay for this chapter! Thank you all for being patient with me. I'll try to update more frequently from now on. Jasper's POV for the next chapter!

**I also mentioned in my other story that I am going to be starting a new story soon. I posted the summary below:**

**Summary: Bella Swan finds herself in an odd situation after her supposed friends take things too far. Now, Bella thinks she's dead once she realizes that no one can see her. But what happens when a strange family moves to town and they actually acknowledge her presence? Can they help her find out what is happening to her, or will it be too late?**

**I'm not sure if I want this new story to be Jasper/Bella or Edward/Bella, so I'm leaving it up to you all. If you want to vote and haven't already, please specify your preference if you leave a review. If you don't want to review but still want to vote, PM me your choice. I'm leaving the voting open until August 15****th****. **

**Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter! :)**

**Love,**

**Katie**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Wow this chapter seemed to write itself. It's out a lot sooner than I thought it would be. I guess my inspiration came back. lol**

**Like I promised, this chapter is in Jasper's POV. I've only written in Bella's POV before so this was a little different. **

**Warning: Jasper will seem like a bit of an ass in this one. He won't always be like that though, so don't hate me… :) **

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Thanks for all the reviews, I enjoyed reading them!

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Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight.

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JPOV

"So, the new girl is hot," Edward said suddenly. I shrugged.

"Yep," I said idly, as I effectively killed Edward's character in the game.

Edward and I were sprawled on the couch playing my Xbox after we got out of school. We were currently waiting for James to show up. James and Edward are my best friends. The two of them spend a lot of time over at my house since there are no parentals most of the time. They are both seniors like me and are on the football team also.

Alice and Rosalie don't like James which is somewhat understandable. He can be pretty crude to the girls he talks to, but it can be pretty hilarious also. Alice and Rose don't appreciate his humor and attitude though, so he rarely ever sits with us at lunch. Normally he's off fucking some girl in a bathroom or janitor's closet during lunchtime. Surprisingly, he has an even worse reputation than Edward and I do.

Emmett is neutral on the subject of James. Although, normally he tends to side with Rose. Seriously the guy is whipped. He follows her around like a love sick puppy and agrees with pretty much every fucking thing she says. He's a pretty laid back guy, but it's not hard to see that he loves my sister. If the girl he was in love with wasn't my sister, I would probably try to knock some sense in him for being such a pansy.

Edward and I gave up the idea he would be hanging with us after we arrived at my house. He disappeared with my sister upstairs as soon as we stepped through the door. I cringed as I heard a loud crash from upstairs. I did not want to think about what my little sister was doing up there.

Part of me, the older protective brother part, wanted to go up there and rip Emmett a new asshole for even touching my sister. But, I knew Rosalie would beat my ass if I interrupted them. I was just glad that she's happy, especially after what happened a few years back. Just the thought of it had me seeing red. To distract myself, so I didn't end up punching a hole through the wall, I cast my mind back to that seductress by the name of Bella Swan.

She may have no intentions of being a seductress but I swear, even the sound of her voice went straight to my cock, which was standing at attention throughout English. I found myself fantasizing about ways I could take her and which positions we could use. Ugh there we go again. My second in command was saluting once more in response to my thoughts.

I couldn't seem to get that girl out of my mind. I tried to adjust myself without Edward noticing. But one look in his direction made it clear he hadn't noticed my little, well I should say _big_, situation. He was staring at the wall with a thoughtful look on his face. He suddenly turned to face me with a grin.

"I think Bella likes me," he said matter-of-factly. I suddenly found myself choking on my spit. He gave me an amused look.

"Why do you think that?" He rolled his eyes at my question, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Dude, did you see the way she acted toward me at lunch?" I snorted.

"Yeah, and I find it pretty damn creepy the way you had her hand in your lap. What exactly were you trying to get her to do with her hand anyway?" I gave him a suspicious look. He laughed but didn't answer. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I wonder what she's like in bed…" he trailed off with a thoughtful look.

For some reason, I found myself wanting to punch his face in. That's weird. Edward is one of my best friends. I've never considered hitting him for showing interest in a girl before. I shook my head at these sudden violent thoughts.

"Like you'd ever find out," I replied with a snort. He smirked.

"Is that a challenge?" He raised his eyebrows at me.

This was normal for us. James, Edward, and I would occasionally bet whether we thought a girl would put out or not. A lot of times we would make a bet if we thought one of the others wouldn't be able to screw the girl. We almost made a game of it. I've won a decent amount of money over the years from these bets, since no girl can turn me down. That may make me sound arrogant, but it's the truth. I mean, why settle for one girl when you can have a shit load of them? You can't argue with that logic…

The three of us have become pretty well known as players at the high school so it shouldn't come as a surprise to the girls we fuck. They know that none of us sticks with a girl too long. As soon as we lose interest, we dump them and move on. There have been a few clingy girls I've hooked up with in the past, but I simply turn cold towards them and pray they get the hint.

I'm currently in the process of getting rid of one of my more recent hookups, Lauren Mallory, who won't leave me the fuck alone. She can't seem to take a hint. I groaned as I remembered the last time she tried to flirt with me.

_Flashback_

_I was talking to Edward and James in the hallway by our lockers, when I saw Lauren Mallory walking towards me. I groaned which caused the others to turn in the direction I was looking. The two dumbasses started snickering at me. Like this was actually funny or some shit. Fuckers. _

"_Hey Jazzy!" Lauren called in her high pitch voice. I cringed. I hated that name mainly because she's the one who calls me that. _

_James laughed and clapped me on the back._

"_Have fun," he snorted, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. _

_He knows how I feel about her. Hell, they both feel the same way. Before I could say anything in retaliation, James and Edward left me there to deal with this annoying situation by myself. I could practically hear them laughing their asses off as they took off down the hallway. Assholes. _

_I turned around, intent on ignoring her presence, when I felt her hand wrap around my arm._

"_Jazzy didn't you see me?" She asked. I groaned and looked down at her._

"_What do you want Lauren?" The tone of my voice would have alerted anyone else that I was beyond annoyed. But Lauren didn't seem to take the hint, and fluttered her eyelashes in a way that looked like she was possessed._

"_Is there something wrong with your eye?" I asked. She turned red._

"_Uh no…" All eyelash fluttering ceased at my remark. I internally smirked. _

"_I was just wondering if you wanted to do something after school?" She started running one of her fingers, complete with fake nail, down my chest in a way I could only assume was an attempt at seduction._

"_Yeah, I was thinking of hanging out with Edward and James later," I said coldly. She looked flustered for a bit._

"_I meant with me," she purred. _

_I rolled my eyes. This was seriously starting to piss me off. I haven't shown her any interest since the night I was piss ass drunk. You think she would take the hint._

"_Lauren, I need to tell you something." I lowered my voice making her lean in with a smile on her lips. I internally laughed at her reaction. Did she actually think I was going to say something good to her? Well she had a surprise coming then. _

_My expression grew cold. She looked a little taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor._

"_What we did last weekend was called fucking. You didn't honestly expect me to want to date you or anything, did you?" I asked with a laugh. I knew I was being a dick but I couldn't seem to give a shit right now._

_She turned red and pulled her hand away from my chest, for which I was thankful. I thought she would run along after that, but to my disappointment she seemed to compose herself._

"_Well maybe next time," she cooed before walking away, swaying her hips exaggeratedly as she went._

_End of flashback_

Huh, well that memory made my cock go limp. At least now I know how to distract myself when I'm around Bella. All I'll have to do is think of Lauren to assure that my dick stays down. Good to know.

The only reason I fucked her in the first place was because I was drunk out of my fucking mind at some house party I went to. She was the first girl I came in contact with. I mean pussy is pussy no matter which way you look at it. Ever since then, she has been following me around like the desperate, overly made-up, bottle blonde bimbo that she is, hoping that I'll change my views on the whole dating thing. That thought made me laugh. I'm not into that shit. Dating is just not my thing. Not since _her_.

It's obvious that Lauren is desperate to gain access to our little group at school. She's pretty much a social climber and would undoubtedly become more popular if she was accepted into our group. Too bad for her, but I have no intentions of allowing that to actually happen.

I looked back at Edward who was staring at me with an eyebrow quirked.

"So are you in?" Edward asked, referring to the challenge he had been talking about.

I thought about it and for some reason had reservations about making a bet on Bella. I internally kicked myself. What the fuck is it about this girl? It was making me angry that some insignificant girl could have this effect on me. I vowed to myself a while ago that I wouldn't go all pansy ass again over one girl. Not again. I shook my head at those thoughts.

I thought back to when I talked to Bella earlier today.

_Flashback_

_I was shocked to see Bella in my senior English class. They must have made an exception for her or something. Of course I just had to have her sit next to me. _

_I kept glancing at her from the corner of my eye throughout the class. I barely paid attention to what the teacher was saying which didn't really matter. Since it was the first day, Mrs. Anderson was only going over the reading list and class syllabus today. _

_I noticed how Bella would occasionally lift her hand and clutch the pendant of the necklace, which she wore around her neck, in her hand. She would start fingering it absentmindedly while she was focusing on what the teacher was saying. I don't even know if she realized she was doing it. _

_Once class was about to end, I glance over at Bella again to see her with her lip between her teeth as she studied the reading list. I won't deny that the girl was hot. She had innocent looking big brown eyes and long brown hair that I could just picture myself holding onto as she wrapped those pouty lips around my cock. My pants were getting uncomfortably crowded at these thoughts. I adjusted myself right as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. _

_All the other students started filing out of the door, but Bella stayed in her seat. It looked like she was deep in thought. _

"_Are you planning on sitting here all day?" I asked with a smile. That seemed to snap her out of it. _

_She smiled at me causing me to zero in on her lips. I could just picture the things she could do with those. I nearly came undone at that thought._

"_Is it weird that I read all of these books on the list already?" Her voice broke me out of my lust-filled thoughts. _

_Huh, she must love reading. I thought of a more enjoyable pastime I could get her to take part in with me. I felt my cock twitch at the thought. Down boy. _

"_Wow you really like to read, huh?" I stated conversationally, hoping she didn't catch onto the fact that I had just been undressing her in my mind. _

_She laughed and nodded. Her laugh sounded like bells and I found myself smiling in response. I watched as her hips swayed as we headed toward the door. When Lauren did that it made me want to gag, but when Bella did it, it was another story. The way her hips swayed subtly had me entranced and my erection got painfully hard. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up with blue balls. _

_When we got outside the class I turned to face her. I needed to get away before she noticed the growing situation in my pants that I was currently trying to hide._

"_Well I got to go to that meeting. I'll see you at lunch in a little bit, OK?" She nodded and I made my hasty retreat down the hallway. _

_End of flashback_

Lunch was a lot like that with me constantly fantasizing of the things I could do to her. Although for some reason, seeing Edward hold her hand got me pissed off. I shook my head at the idiocy of this. Edward was my friend, and Bella was just some girl I met. She was nothing to me.

Sure, she had me almost jizzing in my pants at the mere sight of her in that fuck hot short skirt she was wearing and those long fucking legs of hers that I could just picture wrapped around my waist. Great. I'm going to be in a constant state of arousal with her around. This is ridiculous. I adjusted myself inconspicuously again as thoughts of bending her over and fucking her senseless plagued my mind.

Anyway, my point is that it's just lust. I'm not one of those dumbass motherfuckers who stick around for some tramp to rip out their heart. Been there, done that. Not planning on having a repeat of that experience anytime soon.

Maybe these perverted thoughts I was having about her would leave me the fuck alone if I just gave in and screwed her already. If Edward wanted to make a bet about Bella Swan, then I could find a way to benefit out of this. With that thought, I turned to Edward with a smirk.

"How about we make it more interesting?" That got his attention.

"What did you have in mind?" He looked at me curiously.

"How about instead of this being one sided, we see _who_ can fuck her first?" I asked, waiting for his reaction.

This would give me the opportunity to get her in bed so I can get on with my life without having a constant erection at the mere thought of her. My pants were getting increasingly uncomfortable the more I thought about her hot, tight little body… I licked my lips at the thought of what she might taste like. Okay, I definitely need a cold shower at this point. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and looked at Edward again.

I was pretty sure that she wanted nothing to do with him. I could almost make out a look of disgust on her face when Edward held her hand in his lap. He was just too damn cocky to realize this. I remembered how pissed I was at lunch when Edward pulled that stunt with her. I didn't understand why I would care though. It isn't like I haven't seen him try to flirt with girls before. It was probably that I wanted her to be my next conquest and he was intruding on my plans. The feelings I was having for this girl was probably just lust. Nothing else.

Edward opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted.

"Count me in." I turned to see James, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, standing in the doorway. I hadn't even heard him come in. I guess he had been listening in on our conversation.

"Yeah, me too," Edward said after a moment. "Although there's no way you two will win this one," he stated confidently. I snorted at this and saw James roll his eyes.

"Do you even know who we're talking about?" I directed at James. He shrugged but smirked.

"Nope," he said simply. "I've heard about her of course, since she's the new girl, but I haven't seen her yet. I'm assuming she's not ugly or anything considering the way you two are talking about her."

"She's the furthest thing from ugly," Edward declared. "This is a bet I'm definitely looking forward to. I can't wait to have her wrapped around my dick."

"Dude, too much information," I said, making a face at him. I didn't want to think of _him_ screwing Bella.

"Like you weren't thinking it too," Edward said with a laugh.

"So what are the stakes?" James asked as he plopped down on the loveseat.

"How about the losers have to each pay $100 to whoever wins the bet? That's a total of $200 for the winner." I looked at the both of them "Deal?"

"Deal," Edward and James agreed simultaneously.

"But how do we make sure the winner actually fucked her?" James asked skeptically. "For all I know, one of you could claim you won but you didn't actually follow through."

I thought about this for a moment before Edward clapped his hands together as if he had an "aha" moment.

"I've got it!" Edward exclaimed. "The winner has to steal Bella's panties and show them to the others in order to win the bet!" He looked proud of himself.

"That works for me," James said. They looked at me.

"Sure," I shrugged.

That seemed easy enough to do. Bella might be a little confused by her missing underwear but she probably wouldn't guess I had been the one to take them after our little sexcapade. I was determined to be the winner so it was easy enough to assume I would end up with them. I bet she would be more than willing to have a good fuck with me if I gave her the time of day. I mean with all my past experiences, I've never been turned down. The thought of me being rejected was actually laughable.

"So it doesn't count without the panties," Edward clarified. We nodded our acceptance of the rules for this bet.

"Wait. We might have a problem…" I trailed off as I thought about Bella sitting with us at lunch today and the reason she was there in the first place. Edward raised his eyebrows for me to continue.

"Well, isn't she Alice's friend? Alice would fucking kill us if she ever found out." James laughed as if that was nothing to be worried about. Edward only shrugged.

"It's not like she'll ever find out about this," Edward said thoughtfully. "I mean, none of us will talk about this to anyone else, so there would be no way for her to find out," he concluded with another shrug. He had a point.

"OK, but wouldn't this get kind of awkward afterward?" Edward waved a hand dismissively at this.

"Whoever succeeds in fucking her can suggest afterward that they should just be friends instead. It might be a little awkward at first, but how bad can it be?" I nodded and tried to shrug off the foreboding feeling I was getting.

I pushed away the unwanted thoughts I was having about how wrong this felt, and made myself think about this challenge instead. There was no doubt in my mind that this was a bet I would definitely win.

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AN: So there you have it! I hope that gave insight into what is going on in Jasper's head. I know he may seem like an ass at the moment, but he has his reasons which will make their way into the story later. This is my first time writing in a POV that isn't Bella's so I'm a little anxious to know what you all thought. I hope I didn't fail miserably… I'm getting more into the plot so it should be picking up soon.

**Also, if you haven't already v****oted for whether you want my new story to be Jasper/Bella or Edward/Bella, please tell me your preference in a review or send me a PM with your choice. The summary for it, if you haven't seen it already, was posted in the last chapter in the Author's note. **

**Anyway, the next chapter will be back in Bella's POV.**

**Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!**

**Love,**

**Katie**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I'm so sorry for the wait! I had half this chapter done when I realized I didn't like it at all. So, I ended up deleting the whole thing and starting over again. And then that happened again with me writing half the chapter and not liking it. This chapter was like pulling teeth so I hope, after what seems like the hundredth try, I finally wrote a decent one…lol**

**I want to thank you all for being so patient with me and for all the awesome reviews! I love hearing what you guys have to say.**

**I hope you all enjoy this one! **

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**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight**

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BPOV

"Come on Bella! Just a little while longer!"

"Aliiiccceee!" I whined. "I've been doing this for the last two hours! I need a break!" I collapsed on the grass, lying on my back and staring up at the sky. "And maybe a Tylenol," I added as an afterthought, as I became aware of my aching muscles.

"You can't expect to get on the team in _that_ condition. I can't just let you on. You have to be good!" She tried pulling on my arm so that I would stand back up, but her small frame couldn't lift my dead weight off the ground. She groaned and then collapsed next to me.

"Fine. One ten minute break, but that's it," she said sternly. I groaned.

Ever since Alice found out I had signed up for the varsity cheerleading tryouts, she made it her job to help me practice for my audition. She explained to me that she is the head cheerleader, which actually made a lot of sense considering how much energy she always has.

It wasn't long after she started helping me that I realized how out of shape I now am. The last semester of my sophomore year, after the accident, I stopped working out completely. I had been stuck in a downward spiral and couldn't bring myself to care about keeping my body fit. This seems to be a problem now though considering how I couldn't even run two miles without feeling like I had asthma with all the wheezing I was doing.

Ever since I agreed to her help, she has been relentless in her mission to get me on the team. Over the course of the week she has constructed this crazy workout schedule for me. Apparently, according to Alice, I'm more than a little behind. Alice informed me that most of the girls trying out probably have their routine figured out already for their audition. This left me momentarily panicked. I should have given more thought to the impending date of the tryouts, but apparently this little problem seemed to slip my mind.

I finally decided that I could use the routine I used last year to get on the varsity team at my old high school. It was a little rusty, but with a little more practice I would be able to perfect it. I hadn't even realized tryouts were so soon, next weekend to be exact. This would give ample time for the new members to be accepted in time for the retreat the following weekend where the team would work on the performance for this year.

I was currently sprawled out on the grass in the front of the Cullen mansion. Yes, _mansion._ They call it a house, but something _that_ big couldn't be classified as anything other than a mansion. Alice had dragged me here as soon as school got out so we could continue her psychotic workout routine.

When she told me at lunch about her plan to continue her crazy exercise schedule she has me on, I made the mistake of doing the Nazi salute, implying that she was Hitler. Seriously, the way she is working me, she might as well be the female version of him. The result of my actions led to raucous laughter erupting at our table (mostly from Emmett, Jasper, and Edward), and a painful jab in the side from the insane dictator herself. This also led to another twenty forward lunges and fifty more calf raises being tacked onto my training. I'm starting to wonder if she is actually trying to kill me instead.

"Okay, break's over!" Alice said, bouncing back up. How is it possible to have that much energy all the time?

"Get your lazy ass up!" Alice said after I continued to lie on the grass, my legs and arms limp from the exertion I've put on my muscles. I groaned but acquiesced in the end. Truthfully, that little pixie scares the shit out of me.

"Give the poor girl a break Alice," Esme scolded, appearing on the porch suddenly. "I brought you two some lemonade. I thought you could use it," she said, her eyes sweeping over my sweat drenched tank top.

She carried the tray, complete with two glasses of lemonade and a plate of her homemade lemon squares, over to the bench on the porch and set it down for us.

This past week I have gotten to know Esme, Edward's and Alice's mom, since I have been spending so much time at their house. She acts just like a second mother to me even though she just met me. I have also met Alice's and Edward's dad, Carlisle, as well but I haven't seen him as much. He works as a doctor at the hospital, so he isn't around here as much as Esme, but from what I've seen of him he is just as kind as her.

I thanked her before chugging down the glass of lemonade, relishing in the feel of the cool liquid filling my mouth and sliding down my parched throat.

"Hey Bella, can I talk to you for a minute?" A velvety voice asked.

I looked up and saw Edward leaning in the doorway of their house. I saw Alice open her mouth to protest, but I jumped at the chance to get away from her craziness.

"Sure!" I practically skipped over to him, thankful for an escape from the psychotic pixie.

He chuckled at my exuberance before leading the way into the house. I did my best to ignore Alice's glare as I passed her and followed him into the living room before taking a seat on the couch. He plopped down on the couch as well, sitting so close his knees were pressed up against mine. I did my best to sit still, and ignore the urge to put some distance between us. I guess some people don't have a sense of personal space…

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked, becoming uncomfortable with the way he was staring at me. He had an almost _hungry_ look in his eyes.

"Right," he cleared his throat, "have you heard of the Sadie Hawkins dance yet?"

I nodded my head slowly, dreading where this conversation was going. I remembered the posters all throughout the hallways at school advertising the dance, and the girls talking secretly in the bathroom about who they wanted to ask to it. Apparently, the dance would be the weekend after the cheerleading retreat.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me, considering you don't know many people here yet."

"Oh," I muttered lamely. "Isn't it a girl's choice?" I asked, trying to buy myself more time to think of a way to turn him down nicely.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "But, I thought I would save you the trouble of trying to find a date." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He cocked his head to the side waiting for my answer.

I wracked my brain for an excuse to say no. He seems nice enough, but the way he has started staring at me lately is starting to make me uncomfortable. Whenever I was around him, I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes, and I definitely did not want to put up with that for a few hours at some dance.

"That's the Saturday three weeks from now, right?" I questioned. He nodded silently, smirking at me.

"Uh…well…" And then an idea hit me. "I actually planned a trip to Seattle for that day." That was sort of true. I had wanted to check out Seattle and look around the shops, but I hadn't planned on a specific day to do this. He didn't need to know this though…

His face fell at my words, but he composed himself.

"Can you go some other day?" I shook my head 'no' at his question.

"Okay. Just thought I'd offer." He paused for a moment looking thoughtful. "Maybe we could hang out some other time. Just the two of us. You know, to get to know one another."

"Sure," I smiled hesitantly.

"Edward, stop hogging Bella! We have work to do!" Alice came bounding in the front door suddenly, looking extremely annoyed. For once I was actually thankful for her pushiness. Edward rolled his eyes before standing up.

"Well, I need to go meet up with Jasper and James anyways. I'll see you two later," Edward winked at me before heading towards the door.

"Go easy on her Alice," Edward said as he passed her, amusement evident in his voice. She stuck her tongue out at him petulantly, causing him to chuckle before heading out.

"Who's James?" I asked, once Edward was gone. Alice wrinkled her nose like she smelt something bad.

"You don't want to know," she groaned. "Although, I should probably warn you that he has an even worse reputation than Jasper and my brother. I don't know how those two can even stand him." She shook her head.

"Huh, I wonder why I haven't met him yet," I mused.

"That's probably because he's a senior and he's always off with some girl at lunch so he doesn't sit with us, thank God." I laughed at her annoyed expression.

"Alright, time to get back to work!" She said suddenly, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. I groaned but at a glare from Alice, I got up from the couch and followed her back outside to continue with my torture…err…I mean training.

* * *

There was a weird beeping sound that I couldn't seem to place in my sleep-addled mind. The haze that clouded my head prevented me from figuring out what it was.

"Bella, turn off your fucking alarm clock!" I bolted up in bed, my head whipping around in a panic from being awoken so abruptly.

"Huh?" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and blinked the grogginess away to see Jake standing in the doorway of my room looking like he wanted to murder me.

"Turn. Off. Your. Alarm!" Jake punctuated each word slowly, maintaining his grumpy expression.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, finally understanding what that annoying beeping sound was now that I was fully awake. I reached over and hit the button on my alarm clock finally silencing the incessant beeping.

"Sorry," I muttered. "Alice had me exercising for five hours yesterday. I guess all that work made me really tired." That was a huge understatement. Alice had me feeling as if I was about to drop dead by the time she relented and allowed me to go home.

"How could you sleep through that though? You have that alarm up so high it woke me up all the way over in my room! It was going off for like ten minutes!" Jake declared dramatically.

"Sorry," I muttered again, throwing the blankets off of me and standing up. I started searching through my closet for something to wear, ignoring the burning ache in my muscles from working out for so long yesterday. "But don't you have to get ready for school anyway?"

"Yeah but I was having a good dream…" Jake grumbled.

"What about?" I asked absentmindedly, while I continued to rifle through my clothes.

I turned to look at him when he didn't answer me to see Jake's cheeks turning red. That's weird. The only time he's blushed that I can think of is when he was talking to Alice at school. Oh wait! I started laughing uncontrollably, making Jake look at me nervously.

"It was about Alice, wasn't it?" If possible Jake's cheeks got even redder.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jake stated obstinately. I snorted.

"Oh please. I saw the way you were looking at her at school. I'm not blind." I looked at him thoughtfully. "Do you want me to say anything to her?" I asked him, barely able to contain my amusement.

"No!" He exclaimed, before he seemed to realize his mistake. "Err…I mean because there isn't anything to say."

"Sure," I said sarcastically. He glared at me before marching out of my room looking highly disgruntled.

* * *

After I had agreed that Jake could drive his Rabbit to school today, he seemed to forgive me for waking him up this morning. However, he started pestering me about getting a "normal" alarm clock with a radio, so if he was woken up again at least it wouldn't be that annoying beeping sound. It would be a song instead. Apparently, according to Jake, my current alarm clock is too "old fashioned." I had rolled my eyes at him after that remark.

Once Jake pulled into a spot in the parking lot at school and I had hopped out, I became aware of someone whistling. I looked around for the source of the sound, to see a guy with short, dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes making his way over to me. He was hot if I was being honest with myself, but he had nothing on Jasper. Whoa! Where did that thought come from?

"Nice ride," the guy said, grinning down at me.

"My brother's pride and joy," I said, smiling and rolling my eyes playfully. He extended his hand.

"I'm James," the guy introduced. Oh. So _this _is the infamous James. I put my hand in his, albeit hesitantly.

"Bella," I said simply.

"Well Bella, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said softly. "Why don't you let me walk you to class?" But before I got a chance to respond, an arm wrapped around my shoulders. I looked up to see that Jake was the one who had tucked me into his side. I was shocked at the glare he was directing at James.

"That's not necessary James," my brother said with a hint of venom in his voice. James looked surprised for a moment before he put his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"I didn't mean anything by it man. Just trying to be friendly," James explained calmly.

"Yeah, I've heard how _friendly_ you can be, namely to the girls in the school," Jake said bluntly. I was surprised at Jake's tone. He usually gets along with everyone. James ignored Jake's jab and turned to me with a smile.

"See you around Bella." He smiled at me before walking away. I turned my attention to Jake who still had his arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders. He was still glaring in the direction of where James had left.

"What was that about?" I asked him curiously.

"Bells, I want you to stay away from him." His tone was demanding, causing me to bristle at him telling me what to do.

"I can talk to whoever I want to talk to," I hissed stubbornly. Jake dropped his arm away from me.

"Look, just trust me. That guy's bad news. You should have heard some of the stories I was told in the locker room about him. I even overheard him once bragging about fucking three different girls during the same lunchtime." He shook his head looking disgusted.

"It's not like I was planning on hooking up with him in some empty classroom or something. He was just being nice," I reasoned.

"I'm just looking out for you. You're my little sister Bells." My expression softened at his words.

"Thanks Jake, but you don't have to worry about that." I smiled up at him. "Now let's get to class," I said in mock enthusiasm. Jake snorted and followed along beside me as we headed toward the entrance of the school.

* * *

As soon as I stepped into my fourth period English class that day, Jasper greeted me with a smile that lit up the room. I found myself smiling back at him without being consciously aware of doing so. Once I had taken my seat next to him, he turned to face me.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" He asked suddenly.

"Alice is probably going to drag me over to her house again to work on my routine," I muttered with a groan. He laughed and I found myself smiling at the sound. "What about you?" I asked conversationally. He smiled at me.

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me tomorrow."

Wow. I never got attention from guys like this back in Phoenix. Sure, I got asked out, but never by two guys in the same week, not to mention James suddenly coming up to me and talking to me out of the blue. And I just got here! What is it with the guys in Forks? I realized I hadn't answered Jasper yet and he was still staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

"I don't think that will be possible," I stated grudgingly.

He gave me a questioning look and tilted his head to the side curiously as if silently asking me to elaborate. He looked so damn cute when he did that, with his blonde curly locks falling in his face. It was like staring at a puppy that you just had to pet because they were so cute. I shook my head at these thoughts. I'm pretty sure he would find it weird if I suddenly started petting him…

"What I meant is that I don't think Alice will let me do anything this week other than practice for my cheer audition. I'm pretty sure an apocalypse would be more likely to happen." A look of understanding crossed his face before he laughed lightly.

"An apocalypse, huh?" He smirked causing me to blush. What was it with him? I hardly ever blushed and now with one smirk from him, I'm as red as a tomato! He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, causing my blush to deepen. He grinned at my reaction.

"But, what do you say? Do you want to do something tomorrow?" I hesitated, remembering Alice's earlier warning about him. I didn't want to get involved with some guy that used and dumped girls so frequently. But, he didn't actually say this was a _date_.

"As friends?" I clarified. His smile faltered a bit but was back in place a second later. Maybe I imagined that…

"Of course," he replied. I smiled at him.

"Okay then, but only if you're the one to break it to Alice." He chuckled at this stipulation.

"You're scared of her, aren't you?" He asked, with an amused chuckle.

"Hell yeah!" I exclaimed. "Have you even met her? She's like the devil incarnate!" He shook his head and laughed.

"Don't worry about that. I'll talk to her." He gave me that panty dropping smirk of his.

"You're funeral," I said, shaking my head with a smile.

He chuckled at my comment, but at that moment Mrs. Anderson began her class making it impossible for us to continue our conversation. As I faced the front of the class, I thought about what I have heard about Jasper from people in the school. He doesn't seem so bad to me…

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AN: Next chapter will be back in Jasper's POV. Please review and let me know what you think! I'll try to be better about responding to reviews from now on. :)

**And I decided to give you all a sneak peak of my next story! **

**Preview:**

Raindrops began to fall around us and one landed awkwardly on my eyelash when I stared up at the black sky. The only semblance of light being the full moon that shone above us. A sudden flash of lightening suddenly illuminated our surroundings briefly followed by a loud clap of thunder. I jumped at the sudden noise, hearing the chuckles from around me.

"You're not scared, are you _Bella_?" Lauren sneered.

"She's doing a lot better than you when it was your initiation," Angela snapped. "At least she hasn't cried for her mommy like _you_ did."

Lauren huffed but chose not to respond. If I wasn't so freaked out, I would have found what Angela said funny. But as it was, I had no idea where they were taking me, and I was admittedly frightened of what I was going to have to do tonight.

**This story will be a Jasper/Bella relationship also. Thank you to everyone who voted! **


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and alerts! **

**I am so sorry for the delay! Writer's block is such a pain in the ass. This chapter took me forever to write! Ok…maybe I'm exaggerating a little…But I was shocked to see that I hadn't updated since August, so I forced myself to sit down and get this chapter written.**

**I want to thank you all for being so patient with me, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! **

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**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight**

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JPOV

Ever since Bella agreed to go out with me, I've been smiling like a fool. I couldn't help it though. It's obvious that I'm closer to winning this bet than James and Edward are, and if there is one thing I fuckin' love, it's winning. There was just one thing I needed to take care of first in the form of a hyperactive pixie. I found said pixie near her locker once I had entered the school the next morning. She looked up as I approached.

"Hey Alice," I sidled up to her. "I wanted to ask you something." She waved her hand in a sign for me to go on, before she turned her attention back to her locker, gathering the books she would need for her classes.

"Right…well I asked Bella if she wanted to go out, but she seems to think that she needs to ask your permission," I laughed slightly at the ridiculousness of that statement. Alice turned to face me, raising her eyebrows.

"And why, may I ask, do you find that so amusing?" Alice asked dangerously.

"Uh, well," I scratched the back of my neck before shaking my head. "Come on Alice. It's just one day," I said reasonably. Her stare was starting to make me feel uncomfortable, and that's a hard fuckin' feet to accomplish.

Her lips pursed as she scrutinized my face, her expression becoming more suspicious the longer she looked at me, before she suddenly hit my arm.

"Hey! What the fuck Alice?" I growled, rubbing my arm. That toy sized girl can seriously pack a punch.

"Whatever you're planning you better not do it," she growled back at me. I gawked at her. I hated how intuitive she could be sometimes. I don't know how she does it, but she's rarely ever wrong about shit.

"I don't know what you're talking about Alice," I said stubbornly. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Why are you interested in Bella?" Alice asked suspiciously. "You're my friend Jazz, but so is Bella. If you do anything to hurt her, I swear I'll sneak into your room at night and hack off you balls in your sleep." Wow. I can see why Bella was scared of this little she-devil. She can be rather frightening.

"Can't I want to hang out with Bella without having an ulterior motive?" I asked innocently, feigning a hurt expression, at the same time evading her accusation. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"You better not be planning anything," she said threateningly. I rolled my eyes and draped my arm over her shoulders.

"Come on shorty, what do you say?" She looked up at me and then sighed dramatically.

"Alright. I guess she could use a break for a day." She weaseled her way out from under my arm. "And don't call me shorty," she added, wearing an annoyed expression. I laughed and ruffled her hair, dodging out of her reach as she aimed a punch to my arm again.

"What did I tell you about the hair?" She growled while she tried to fix her now mussed hair. I held up my hands in a sign of surrender as she glared at me.

"Sorry," I laughed. "Couldn't resist." She rolled her eyes as the bell rang, signaling for us to get to our first class of the day.

* * *

"Jazzy!" The familiar, nails-on-a-chalkboard worthy voice screeched from behind me, as I exited my third period class that day. I hate that Lauren knows my class schedule. She shows up outside my classes occasionally, much to my annoyance. I don't even know how she found out all my classes. It's pretty fuckin' creepy.

I grimaced and lengthened my stride in an effort to put as much distance as possible between her and my dick. Couldn't she take a hint? I've been avoiding her like the plague since that unfortunate drunken night. I shuddered at the thought that I had actually been inside her. That's just fuckin' nasty.

"Jazzy, wait up!" Lauren yelled again. Oh shit. That sounded closer. I was practically running down the hall at this point, shoving the unsuspecting freshman aside as I went, but it was no use. I groaned as I felt her bony fingers wrap around my arm, her fake nails digging into my skin in the process.

"Where's the fire?" She joked, apparently oblivious to the fact I had been trying to avoid her. How dumb could she get?

"What do you want?" I snapped at her. She smiled, seemingly unfazed by my sharp tone.

"Do you really have to ask?" She purred, still keeping her death grip on my arm. I rolled my eyes and ripped my arm out of her grasp. She stumbled a little at the force I used to get her to let go of me.

"Sorry. I don't have any cash on me today. Maybe you could proposition Mike. I'm sure he would be willing to pay for your services," I said in a serious tone. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, obviously not understanding that I basically just called her a prostitute. She shrugged her shoulders after a moment, while twirling a lock of her hair around her finger.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me," she asked confidently.

"No," I said shortly, turning to walk away. My teeth clenched together in annoyance as she skipped in front of me, blocking my path.

"Silly Jazzy," she laughed. "I'll be waiting for you to pick me up at 7 on the day of the dance," she said, completely ignoring my blatant refusal.

Before I could say anything, she spun around and swayed her hips exaggeratedly as she walked away, throwing a wink over her shoulder at me. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.

Well, there's one thing I'm fuckin' sure of, and that's the fact that no way in hell am I going with _her_ to the dance. I shuddered at the idea of having to spend even a few hours with her. I shook my head of those unpleasant thoughts as I resumed walking to my next class.

When I finally got to my fourth period English class, the late bell had already rung, making my annoyance at Lauren rise. I had been planning on talking to Bella before class, but now Mrs. Anderson had already begun the lecture. She looked up as I entered the room wearing a slightly irritated expression.

"Sorry," I muttered. She nodded and went back to teaching. Mrs. Anderson is cool like that. She doesn't create a fuss out of something little, like me being a minute late to class. Worse things have happened. I hurried over to my desk unable to control the annoyed expression I was currently wearing thanks to Lauren. I ignored the questioning look Bella was giving me as I sat down.

I was just getting my notebook out of my backpack when a piece of paper was thrown onto my desk. I looked over at Bella who was acting as if she was paying close attention to what Mrs. Anderson was saying. I looked back at the note and unfolded it, seeing Bella's messy scrawl.

_What's wrong Mr. grumpy gill? _

I snorted at her reference to _Finding Nemo_. I glanced over at her again, seeing her cheeks redden as she kept her gaze straight ahead. I shook my head slightly and smiled. Just like that, my irritation completely vanished. I pulled out my pencil and jotted a quick note down.

_Not grumpy. Just annoyed. This one girl seems to think I'm taking her to the dance when I keep telling her 'no.'_

I glanced up at Mrs. Anderson, making sure she wasn't looking, before I threw the note back on Bella's desk. From the corner of my eye, I saw her read it and then look over at me before scribbling something down and throwing the note back onto my desk.

_Let me guess. Lauren?_

I raised my eyebrows, surprised that she apparently knows somewhat about Lauren's obsession with me.

_Yeah. How did you know?_

I tossed the note back on her desk, seeing Bella make a face before she scribbled something down and threw it back to me.

_I heard her talking in the halls about how "irresistible you find her. Apparently she has a few new…positions…she wants to try with you._

I rolled my eyes at this, unable to keep the disgusted expression off my face. Of course Lauren would be talking shit.

_Trust me. She's not my type._

It wasn't long before the piece of paper was back in front of me.

_So then, who IS your type?_

My eyebrows shot up in surprise once again. Was she flirting with me? That thought made me smile as I jotted down my reply.

_Hmmm…I'd have to say pretty brunettes from Arizona._

I tossed the note back at her, keeping an eye on her to see her reaction. I grinned as I saw her cheeks flame up with that familiar blush of hers once again. She looked over at me and bit her lip, before looking back down at her desk. She folded up the note and set it aside, turning her attention back to the front of the class where Mrs. Anderson was currently lecturing about George Orwell's 1984 and the idea of utopian societies.

Class flew by in a blur after that, and pretty soon we were all packing up our things to go to lunch. I waited as Bella finished putting her stuff away.

"So, I talked to Alice," I said suddenly, once she had stood up from her desk. She turned to me and gave me a small smile.

"Oh?" She asked simply.

"Yep. She agreed to give you a break," I smiled at her, my smile growing as a blush filled her cheeks. So fuckin' adorable. "So when can I pick you up?" She looked down and bit her lip, unknowingly causing a very uncomfortable situation to arise in my pants. This is ridiculous! I've never had a reaction like this to a girl before. What the fuck is she doing to me?

"So how about I pick you up at 10 on Saturday morning then?" I asked, trying to get my thoughts out of the gutter. She hesitated before she smiled and nodded.

"Sure," she answered as we headed into the lunchroom to join our friends. I internally did a fist pump. Winning this bet will be a piece of cake.

* * *

"Dude! I can't believe she agreed to go out with you!" Edward complained. James, Edward and I were hanging out at my house after we got out of school, playing _Halo_ on my Xbox. I was seriously kicking their asses too.

"What's not to believe?" I said smugly as I obliterated Edward's character with the plasma cannon I had obtained.

"Shit!" Edward cursed, as he threw down his controller. He turned to face me looking incredibly pissed off.

"It's not _my_ fault that you suck at this game," I defended with a laugh. He shoved my shoulder in response, nearly causing me to topple off the couch I had been perched on. I shoved him back in retaliation, unable to hide my amusement as he fell over and hit the ground with a thump. He sat up and glared at me and James as we laughed at his disgruntled expression.

"Seriously though, how did you get her to go out with you?" Edward asked, bringing us back to the topic at hand. He had been moping ever since he found out Bella agreed to go out with me. I didn't tell them that she only agreed to go as friends though…

"Like I'm going to tell _you_. I plan on winning this bet and so far you two are hardly competition," I stated with a laugh.

"Enjoy it while it lasts," James butted in. "Because I have a plan that is sure to work a certain Swan out of her panties," he said arrogantly with a cocky smile plastered on his face.

I was startled at the anger that came over me because of his statement. I composed myself with a neutral expression, filing my reaction away for later inspection.

"Yeah? And what's this _oh-so-brilliant_ plan of yours?" I asked sarcastically. James grinned.

"Like I would tell _you_," He repeated my earlier words causing me to roll my eyes out of irritation.

"Alice was a little suspicious," I told them, remembering her reaction to me wanting to take Bella out. "We'll just have to be careful." James and Edward nodded in response. Edward's eyes seemed to glaze over as he sat there, seemingly thinking hard about something. He suddenly sat up straight with a shit eating grin stretching across his face.

"I just thought of how I'm going to win this bet!" He said excitedly. James and I shared a disbelieving look before turning back to him.

"How so?" I asked skeptically. He shook his head slowly.

"You'll just have to wait and see," he replied cryptically. I looked from James to Edward, seeing them both wearing calculating expressions. It worried me a little about what they could be planning. Their unsuccessfulness at getting Bella's attention had inadvertently given me a sense of false security. I have a feeling things are about to get a lot more interesting…

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AN: To anyone who hasn't seen it yet, the first chapter of my new story is up now!

**Again, sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I hope I didn't disappoint with this update. I'll try to get the next chapter out in a week or two. **

**Thanks for reading! Please review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews! It definitely makes the time I put into this story worth it! **

**This chapter is going to have a lot of Jasper/Bella bonding. I hope you all enjoy this one!**

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**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight**

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BPOV

"Where's Alice when I need her?" I groaned to myself as I threw another shirt over my shoulder without bothering to look at where it landed.

It was currently Saturday morning and I was searching through my closet, trying to find the perfect outfit to wear for Jasper's and my "non-date" as I've been calling it. He would be picking me up in an hour and I still had no idea what I should wear. I threw a few more articles of clothes to the side before pulling a khaki skirt out of my closet. This would be so much easier if I actually knew what we were doing today. But when I asked him, he just told me it was a surprise.

"Whoa! It looks like a tornado hit your room!" Jake said, barging into my room and appraising the clothes that were strewn all over the place.

"Ever hear about knocking?" I muttered sarcastically. Jake laughed and leaned against the door.

"I just wanted to let you know—"

"Drop the skirt and no one gets hurt," a chipper voice cut my brother off. I smiled widely when Alice appeared next to Jake.

"—that Alice is here," Jake finished his sentence unnecessarily.

"Alice! Thank God!" I exclaimed. "I have no idea what to wear today!" Alice laughed and walked into my room, carefully stepping over the random pieces of clothing covering the floor.

"What do you think I'm here for?" She held up the bag she was holding. "I had a feeling you would need a little help with your outfit." I don't know how she knows these things, but I'm not complaining. She tsked as she looked at what I was holding.

"That won't do," she said as she yanked the skirt out of my hands, before throwing it to the side where it landed on the floor with the rest of the contents of my closet.

"You're a life saver," I moaned in appreciation as I watched Alice pull out the outfit she brought for me to wear. It was a blue off the shoulder top with a black waist belt and a pair of dark wash skinny jeans complete with matching blue ballet flats. Alice laughed and laid out the clothes on my bed for me.

"It's no problem. I figured you wouldn't know what to wear considering Jasper wouldn't tell you where you're going," Alice explained with a knowing grin. I gave her a suspicious look.

"You know where he's taking me, don't you?" I accused. Alice's smile widened but she didn't say anything else as she turned back to the door, noticing that Jake was still there. He cleared his throat nervously when he noticed the two of us staring at him.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to stay for breakfast," Jake addressed Alice. "You know, because you're already here," Jake mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at his frazzled expression.

Alice agreed with a shy smile of her own. That's weird. Alice is definitely not the shy type…

Jake smiled before heading out of my room. Alice started to follow before she turned back to me and gave me a serious look.

"Just remember what I told you about being careful with Jasper, alright?" I was a little taken aback by her concerned tone.

"Sure sure," I agreed, using the phrase that Jake says all the time. Alice smiled again.

"Have fun," she said over her shoulder before slipping out of my room.

* * *

"Bella! The door!" Jake yelled from the kitchen after the doorbell sounded throughout the house. I huffed in irritation while grabbing my purse and ran down the stairs to get the door, sliding to a halt in front of it.

"Thanks for the help Jake!" I yelled back sarcastically as I adjusted my ponytail and smoothed my shirt down. He didn't answer me, probably too distracted with Alice still being here. I yanked the door open and smiled when I saw Jasper standing there looking all kinds of hot.

"Ready to go?" He asked with a smile. I nodded and followed him down the front steps and towards where his car was parked in front of my house.

"Any chance you'll change your mind and tell me where we're going?" I asked hopefully as I slid into the front seat. Jasper got in next to me in the driver's seat and turned on the ignition.

"Not a chance," he laughed. I sighed.

"Worth a try," I muttered, which only caused him to laugh harder.

"You really don't like surprises, do you?" He sounded amused by my impatience.

"Nope," I said, popping the 'p'. "Not since my parents thought it would be a good idea to surprise me with a clown at my eighth birthday party." I shuddered at the memory. He glanced at me with a small smile.

"I take it you don't like clowns?"

"God no!" I exclaimed. "And it didn't make it any better that I watched the movie _It_ a few days before my party." Jasper chuckled at this. "I don't think I've ever screamed so loud in my life." He reached over and grabbed my hand, surprising me in the process.

"Well don't worry. This surprise doesn't include clowns," he reassured me as his thumb rubbed soothing circles on the back of my hand. "At least I don't think it does," he muttered the last bit.

"Good," I smiled, enjoying the feel of my hand in his more than I probably should have. "Do you mind if I…" I trailed off as I nodded my head towards the radio.

"Go ahead," he replied to my unfinished question, still maintaining his hold on my hand. "Is this okay?" Jasper asked, looking pointedly at our intertwined hands while I fiddled around with the radio. I smiled and nodded in response, smiling widely at the song that started to play through the speakers as I settled on a station.

"You like Avenged Sevenfold?" Jasper asked surprised.

"Yeah, but this is my favorite song they play," I answered, listening to the upbeat music of _Nightmare_. "The music video is a bit disturbing though…" Jasper laughed at that.

"We're almost there," Jasper said after a while, causing me to sit up straight in my seat out of curiosity. It wasn't long before I saw a Ferris wheel in the distance.

"A carnival!" I screamed excitedly, forgetting where I was or _who_ I was with as I started doing my best Alice impersonation of jumping up and down and squealing loudly. I was brought back down to earth by the sound of Jasper's laughter.

"I take it you like the surprise?" Jasper asked with a grin. I blushed and cleared my throat nervously, a habit I had picked up from Jake.

"Err…yeah," I squeaked out. God why do I have to look like such a moron in front of him? "Sorry about screaming your ear off," I joked, trying to get rid of my embarrassment.

"Nah, I'm glad you reacted that way. To be honest, I was a little nervous about your reaction."

"Why? Who doesn't like the carnival?" I asked, giving him a perplexed look as he pulled into the parking lot and parked his car in one of the spots.

He gave my hand another squeeze before letting it go and opening his door. I watched as he jogged around the car and opened my door for me.

"Thanks," I smiled up at him, squinting as the sunlight burned my eyes. It was one of those rare sunny days, perfect for a day at the carnival. Jasper grinned in response and took my hand again, pulling me towards the ticket booth.

"Two unlimited ride passes," Jasper told the guy behind the booth. The guy barely glanced up as he took Jasper's money and passed him two wristbands.

"What do you want to do first?" Jasper asked as he looked down at me once we both had our wrist bands on. I shrugged and looked around at the different attractions.

"How about that?" I pointed at the large ride called _Starship 2000_. It looked like some kind of spaceship. He nodded as we headed in that direction. "What does this ride do?" I asked.

"You've never been in a gravitron?" Jasper asked. I shook my head 'no'. "They're fun. The thing spins around so fast that you get stuck to the wall," Jasper explained as we stepped up to the line. There weren't many people in the line, so it wasn't long before we were entering the gravitron.

The inside was dimly lit and was circular. I followed Jasper's example and stood with my back against the wall of the gravitron, watching as other people did the same. The doors of the ride closed after everyone took a spot against the wall. Jasper turned his head to face me and grinned.

"Jump when I say to, alright?" I nodded as the ride began to move, spinning around faster and faster. "Jump!" Jasper yelled to me over the whirling sound of the gravitron.

I jumped as high as I could and got stuck to the wall, the floor of the ride far below my feet. I started giggling like a maniac as I stayed glued to the wall, hearing Jasper chuckling from beside me. I looked across from where I was clinging to the wall and laughed even harder when I saw that the boy across from me was completely upside down. _How did he do that?_

"Have fun?" Jasper asked, looking down at me as we exited the Starship 2000. I nodded eagerly, unable to keep the grin off my face. This time, I was the one to grab his hand, surprising myself and him in the process.

"What do you say about bumper cars?" He asked after a while with a twinkle in his eyes.

* * *

"So why exactly did you choose to move to Forks?" Jasper asked as we took a seat on a bench near the concession stands.

I swallowed the bit of corn dog I was chewing on, which he had bought for me. We had gone on the Tilt-A-Whirl, bumper cars, fun slide, teacups, and the Starship 2000 once again before we decided to take a break from the rides and have some lunch. He took a bite of his own corn dog as he waited for me to answer.

I knew this would be brought up sooner or later, but I wasn't ready to tell him about the accident yet, especially not now when we are having so much fun at the fair. I looked down at my half eaten corn dog before glancing back up at him.

"Just thought I could use a change of scenery," I said with a shrug. That was partly true I guess. His eyebrows knitted together as he stared at me, almost as if he knew that wasn't the real reason, but he didn't call me on it.

"It must be a lot different than Phoenix," Jasper said with a laugh, seemingly noticing the tenseness his last question had caused me. I relaxed at the new direction this conversation was going, grateful that he isn't the type to pry. I nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. I'm not used to seeing all this green all the time." He nodded at my answer as we finished our corn dogs before getting up to throw away our trash.

"Come on, I want to do something," Jasper said, grabbing my hand and pulling me in the direction of a game stand. It was one of those games where you had to toss rings on a certain number of bottles.

"These games are impossible to win," I said, laughing at his eagerness as he dished out some cash to the guy running the stand.

"Nah," he waved a hand dismissively. "It just takes talent."

"And you have the talent it takes?" I asked amused.

"Yep," he grinned at me. "Watch and learn." I laughed and made a gesture to indicate for him to go ahead.

He picked up one of the rings he had been handed and looked at one of the bottles with a look of deep concentration. I had to shove my hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter, so he wouldn't think I was laughing at him. He was actually pretty adorable at the moment.

"Damn it!" He exclaimed as the ring fell a few inches short of the bottle. He glanced at me and smiled slightly.

"Hey Bella, could you get me a water at the concession stand?" He handed me a few dollars. "I'm getting kind of thirsty." I took the money and gave him a suspicious look but did as he asked.

After I had paid for the bottle of water and was making my way back to him, I watched as the guy behind the stand handed him the biggest stuffed bear on display. The thing was easily half my size. I gawked as I reached him.

"How did you manage to do that?" I asked suspiciously. He grinned at me, taking the bottle of water I handed him.

"You missed it. As soon as you left, I managed to win."

"Uh-huh," I said slowly.

"Here," he handed it to me. "I got it for you."

"Thanks," I said with a smile of my own as I leaned up and kissed his cheek. We both froze. _Where the hell did that come from?_

I blushed and bit my lip, avoiding his gaze. He scratched the back of his neck before nudging my arm.

"Do you want to go to the funhouse?" I nodded, grateful that he was brushing my actions aside.

I clutched the huge stuffed bear to me as we made our way in the direction of the funhouse. It was so big I had to wrap both of my arms around it. Even though I didn't see it, I'm pretty sure Jasper slipped the guy some money for him to get this huge stuffed animal. That thought made me smile.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I spotted something that made me want to run far away. Jasper, noticing I had stopped walking, glanced back at me with a puzzled look, before realization dawned on his face as he stared at where I was looking. He chuckled and shook his head slightly.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I groaned as I eyed the clown warily, instinctively stepping closer into Jasper's side and away from that hideous _thing_ that was currently making balloon animals for random people. Jasper chuckled and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you from the big bad clown," Jasper teased lightly, causing me to pout.

"There's something unnatural about adults parading around with rainbow wigs on their heads and oversized shoes, not to mention all that face paint." I made a face. "Personally, I don't see what's so funny about that. It's creepy if you ask me," I muttered. Jasper snorted as he led me towards the entrance of the funhouse.

"Balloon animal?" The clown asked us as we drew nearer.

I squealed and slipped out from underneath Jasper's arm to run the rest of the way to the entrance of the funhouse to get away from it, the oversized stuffed animal in my arms slightly slowing my hasty retreat down. I could hear Jasper laughing as he ran to catch up to me.

"I thought you said there wouldn't be any clowns involved in your surprise," I reminded him of what he said in the car on the way here. He shrugged and pulled me into his side again.

"I didn't think there would be," he said simply, as we began maneuvering our way around the funhouse.

The two of us had fun laughing at each other as we looked at our distorted images in the mirrors in the funhouse. There was a room where we had to wade through a huge ball pit to get to the other side. I nearly fell a few times, causing Jasper to pretty much have to carry me through that room.

There were a few slides we had to go down to get to different areas of the funhouse as well. Those were fun, especially when Jasper sat behind me with his legs on either side of me as I leaned back against his chest while we slid down the various slides.

There was another part where we had to walk through a revolving cylinder type thing. I felt like I was going to be sick after getting past that part.

The last room we had to go through had air jets shooting air from the floor, which startled me at first. At this point I was glad Alice came over to my house this morning to prevent me from wearing a skirt. I could just imagine the air jets would cause the skirt to fly up, making me flash Jasper. _That_ would be embarrassing.

My stomach was cramping up from all the laughing I was doing. Jasper was an easy person to be around. He was funny, but knew when to draw the line with his teasing. And when he would wrap his arm around me or hold my hand, it didn't feel strange at all. Admittedly, I had been a little nervous about how this "non-date" was going to go. I had known next to nothing about Jasper before agreeing to spend a day with him, so I was worried there would be a lot of awkward silences. That was definitely not the case though. It felt like I had known Jasper my whole life.

We continued to go on rides and walk around the fairground for a while until the sun started to go down. As the darkness started creeping up on us, Jasper smiled down at me.

"There's just one ride we haven't gone on yet," he said quietly. I gulped as I stared up at him. _Please don't let him be talking about what I think he's talking about._

He looked up and stared pointedly at the Ferris wheel before glancing back down at me. I shook my head vehemently in response.

"Why not?" He asked, a crease appearing between his eyebrows. I wanted to reach up and smooth it out, but decided against it.

"The Ferris wheel freaks me out," I explained with a nervous look in the direction of the ride in question.

"Any more irrational fears I should be aware of?" Jasper teased. I pouted at his words.

"My fears aren't irrational," I said sullenly, holding the bear closer to my chest.

"So, are you afraid of heights?" Jasper asked, tilting his head to the side curiously and losing his teasing tone.

"Not particularly. Just Ferris wheels." He gave me a perplexed look. I sighed. "When I was younger, these two boys at my elementary school went on a Ferris wheel. They were messing around when they were stopped at the top of it and the two of them fell off."

"Shit," Jasper whistled lowly. "Were they okay?" I shook my head 'no.'

"They both died from the fall. Ever since I heard about that, I've been terrified of Ferris wheels," I finished my explanation. He nodded in understanding as he squeezed my hand.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he said seriously. I groaned but nodded in acceptance, causing him to smile and pull me towards my living nightmare.

There wasn't a huge line when we got there, so we were soon stepping up onto the platform so we could get on the ride.

"Can we put this here until we get off?" Jasper asked the man who was running the ride, as he pulled the stuffed animal out of my arms. The man nodded, looking highly bored.

After Jasper placed the huge bear off to the side and we got on the Ferris wheel, I was trying not to look down as we moved higher up into the air. Jasper wrapped his arm around my shoulders reassuringly. I sighed and placed my head on his shoulder, not thinking twice about how comfortable this position felt.

"I hope you had fun today," Jasper said softly.

"I did," I confirmed. "Thanks for today." I lifted my head from his shoulder and gave him a small smile. He smiled down at me in response, before his eyebrows pulled together. He looked like he was contemplating something.

"Is something wrong?" I asked worried. He shook his head slowly.

"No, it's just this is different…" he trailed off and shook his head again before flashing me another smile, but for some reason it didn't seem to quite reach his eyes. "Everything's fine," he said finally. I nodded slowly. _What did he mean by this is different?_ _What's different?_

I shrugged those thoughts off as I leaned my head against his shoulder again. I glanced down at the fairground below us, the sight of the rides lit up from this high up was beautiful at night. I wasn't nearly as terrified as I used to be as the Ferris wheel stopped with us at the very top. I guess they aren't so bad after all. I smiled as I relaxed into Jasper's side, completely at ease.

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AN: This chapter brought back some memories. I can't remember the last time I went to a carnival… That story about the boys and the Ferris wheel actually happened. When I was living in Ohio it was on the news, which led to me being terrified of them. To this day I still can't go on them. lol

**Please review and let me know what you thought about this one! :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts!**

**Is anyone still with me? If you are, I am so so so sorry for the wait! RL can seriously be a bitch sometimes! Just when I thought that I could update more frequently since midterms were over, my professors assigned a shitload of work. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one! **

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**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight**

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BPOV

The drive back home from the fair was spent in relative silence with the radio playing softly in the background. It looked like Jasper was in deep thought for the whole drive, occasionally casting sideways glances at me. His sudden silence didn't bother me at all though because I was also pretty deep in thought myself.

I kept thinking about how comfortable I was with him. I've never felt like this before. There was just a calming presence that he seems to exude that makes me feel at ease with him.

I shook off these thoughts as I realized we were already in front of my house. Jasper turned off his car before turning to face me with a soft smile on his face. I bit my lip nervously, shifting uncomfortably under his intense gaze. His eyes darted down to where I currently had my lip trapped between my teeth, before his eyes met mine again.

Did he want to kiss me? More importantly, did I want to kiss _him_?

_This wasn't a date._ My inner voice reminded me.

No matter how many times I kept telling myself that, I could start to feel my resolve waiver.

_Think about what Alice said! _The voice inside my head warned me.

That just made me feel even more messed up than I already was. Hearing voices inside my head is definitely not normal…

I shook that thought off and cast my mind back to the conversation I had with Alice a few weeks ago.

_"He's pretty much a player. He likes to hook-up with girls and then drop them after he's finished with them." _

I could practically hear Alice's voice in my head as I recalled what she had told me that first day of school. Surprisingly, that memory caused a pang to arise in my chest. This baffled me. At my old school, I was used to hearing things like that about certain guys, but it had never made me feel like this before.

So why would what Alice said bother me so much? Unless…oh God! Do I _like_ him? I mean, I know I like him as a friend, but do I have _feelings_ for him?

_Yes, you do._ The voice taunted me in a singsong tone.

I mentally stuck my tongue out at the voice.

_Real mature. And for your information, denial isn't just a river in Egypt you know._

Like I haven't heard that one before. I mentally rolled my eyes at the voice.

_Bella and Jasper sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-_

SHUT-UP!

The voice sniggered but otherwise fell silent. Maybe the voice is right. Maybe I _do_ have feelings for him. This is just great! Right when I thought my life couldn't get anymore messed up, I just _had_ to start crushing on the guy that is apparently the biggest player in the school!

This revelation left me completely stunned until I remembered I wasn't alone. I turned to face Jasper who was looking at me with a smirk playing at his lips.

"Where did you go just now?" He asked, his voice unintentionally relaying his amusement. "You looked stunned one minute, then annoyed, then angry, and then back to stunned." He raised his eyebrows at me in question.

I definitely couldn't tell him about the voice in my head that I was just having a conversation with. He would definitely think I was crazy if I told him that.

_That's because you ARE crazy._

I thought I told you to shut-up!

The voice sniggered but didn't say anything. I looked back up at Jasper who was giving me a strange look. I bit my lip again and found myself getting lost in his eyes. What is he doing to me?

Suddenly realizing that I was gawking at him like some kind of blundering idiot, I blushed crimson and looked down at my lap, my bangs falling in front of my eyes and obscuring my face from him. I heard him chuckle before I felt his large hand grip my chin and gently lift my head back up, forcing me to meet his gaze. I licked my lips subconsciously, watching as his eyes followed the movement.

_Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I let him kiss me… _

"Why do you always hide behind your hair?" He asked me gently, stroking my bangs off of my forehead.

I could feel my resolve start to crumble as he looked at me. But suddenly, the mood shifted as his face twisted into one of disgust. I blanched as I realized where he was looking. With my bangs pushed off my forehead like that, my ugly scar was clearly on display for him to see. My hands started trembling as I fought not to panic in front of him.

I hastily reached my shaking hands up and pushed my bangs back in place. My sudden movement must have jolted him out of whatever he was thinking because his eyes met mine again, shining with confusion. I yanked the car door open hurriedly and jumped out, ignoring Jasper as he called after me as I struggled to regulate my breathing.

No no no no no. This wasn't supposed to happen! The look on his face had said it all. He was _disgusted_ with me. I ran blindly up to the house, tears cascading down my cheeks, his revolted expression etched into my mind.

My feet tripped over each other as I stumbled up the porch steps. I barreled into the house and slammed the door shut behind me, barely noticing that the lights were off, indicating no one was home. I vaguely realized that Charlie must still be at the station and that Jake wasn't here for some reason. But I barely gave that any thought as I ran up the stairs and headed straight for the bathroom, feeling sick as I remembered how appalled he had looked when he saw my hideous scar.

As soon as I dropped in front of the toilet, I heaved up the contents of my stomach. Why couldn't I just be normal for a day? Was that so much to ask for?

I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth as I stood back up on trembling legs. As my mind began to process my actions, I started becoming angry with myself. Jasper probably thinks I'm crazy right now. I gave a short humorless laugh at that thought.

I _am_ crazy. I mean, isn't that why the doctors prescribed me that medication? Panic disorder _is_ a mental disorder, so doesn't that make me mentally unstable? Not to mention the voice in my head. I doubt sane people have conversations with a voice that no one else can hear…

A giggle passed my lips without my consent at that thought. I clapped a hand over my mouth but couldn't stop the next giggle from bubbling out of my mouth. The sporadic giggles soon turned into hysterical laughter. But it didn't last long. My hysterics morphed into gut wrenching, uncontrollable sobs.

I shakily wiped my hands down my face, trying to get rid of the tears that were sliding down my cheeks rapidly. I blindly stumbled towards the medicine cabinet and opened the door to search for my pills. This proved to be a difficult task due to the moisture that was gathering in my eyes which was obscuring my vision.

Finally, after what felt like hours, I found the little plastic bottle. My hands shook as I fiddled with the cap, trying to get the bottle of pills open.

I started becoming more frustrated as I realized that my hands were shaking so badly that it was a struggle to keep from dropping the bottle. With a lot more force than necessary, I twisted and yanked the cap off. The force I used to open the bottle, on top of the issue of my shaking hands, caused all the pills that were in the bottle to go flying out and scatter all over the bathroom floor.

With an angry scream, I threw the now empty pill bottle at the wall where it hit with a soft clunk and fell to the floor. I whirled back to my reflection, seeing myself staring back at me through the mirror with an angry frown marring my face.

I was slightly surprised to find myself so angry. My still shaking hands balled into fists of their own accord, my breathing becoming even more labored by the second as I stared at my reflection.

I was angry at myself for being so fucked in the head and unable to be _normal_, angry at that boy for drinking and driving which ultimately led to my friend's deaths, angry at being the only one to survive... I was just so fucking angry at this whole situation!

Why was I the only one to survive? Why am I standing here when my friends are six feet under? Why did this have to happen to me and my friends? Why why why why _why_!

Why couldn't Chelsea have been the one to live? She had been looking into going to an Ivy League school after she graduated, most likely as the valedictorian. I don't think I had ever seen her get a grade lower than an A…

Or Becky who had just gotten her acceptance letter from Harvard and was planning on studying law the next year. She was going to graduate in six more months…

Or how about Sarah who had always talked about her dream of pursuing dance out of high school. She had just been announced as the new cheer captain for the following year…

Or Brittany who had the biggest family of any of us, leaving behind her two brothers and three sisters. Her parents had been so happy when she announced she wanted to go into the medical field once she graduated…

I was probably the only one who didn't know what I was going to do with my life once I graduated. They should be here instead of me! I stared in disgust at my pale reflection, my chest heaving up and down with my labored breathing.

"Why me?" I screamed in my anger, throwing my fist back and launching it at my mirrored self.

I barely registered the pain as I watched the glass from the mirror rain down around me. My knees buckled and I landed on the ground with a pitiful sob.

"Why me?" I whimpered again, curling into a ball as the darkness began to creep at the edges of my vision.

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"Christ Bella!" Jake's voice exclaimed, sounding faraway to my ears.

It sounded like he was still talking, but I could barely hear him over the whirring sound filling my head along with that mysterious wheezing noise. I felt my hand being lifted up, before Jake released a long string of curses.

"What happened to her?" A female voice asked worriedly. Alice? What is she doing here?

"Long story," Jake murmured, before I was suddenly lifted off of the floor and cradled against a warm body. It wasn't long before I was being lowered onto something soft and comfy while still gasping for air.

"Just breathe Bella," Jake commanded. "Alice, can you stay with her? I need to get her pills." Alice must have nodded because I could hear Jake retreating from the room. A small hand pushed some hair back from my sweaty face, the hand feeling cold against my overheated skin.

"Oh Bella," Alice whispered sadly, a hint of confusion lacing her tone while she continued to stroke the hair that was sticking to my face out of the way.

"They were all over the floor," Jake said suddenly, his heavy footsteps coming closer to where I was laying. "But I don't think Bella will care about the sanitary issue right now."

Alice removed her hand from my face at the sound of his voice, before I felt my head being tipped back. A large hand gripped my chin, while another hand forced a pill into my mouth. I somehow managed to swallow the little pill with a bit of difficulty due to my labored breathing. I heard Jake sigh, before the bed dipped beside me as he sat down. I focused on the sound of his breathing, trying to regulate my own to match his.

Pretty soon, I could feel the effects of the Xanax kick in, the familiar drowsiness caused by the drug washing away my previous panic attack. Once I could breathe normally again and had stopped trembling violently, I blinked my eyes opened to see Jake still sitting on my bed inspecting my bloodied hand, complements of me punching a mirror. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice standing to the side wearing a worried frown.

"I don't think this will need stitches," Jake mumbled to himself before addressing Alice without looking up from my hand. "Alice, can you get the first aid kit and the Hydrogen Peroxide? They're in the bathroom." Alice nodded and left the room silently.

"Bella, what happened?" Jake asked quietly, finally looking up at me.

A tear slid down my cheek before I could stop it, making me feel even more pathetic. It surprised me when Jake's face contorted with anger.

"Was it Jasper?" Jake demanded. "I'm going to kill him."

He was muttering to himself about how he should go about killing Jasper. He kept saying something about how having a police chief as a dad would come in handy. I felt like hitting him over the head to snap him out of it, but there was only so much I could do in my drug induced stupor.

"Wasn't his fault," I slurred groggily, the Xanax making my eyelids feel heavy as I tried to keep them open. Jake stopped his murderous mutterings and looked back down at me.

"You were fine until you went out with him," Jake said darkly, before running his hands down his face wearily.

"Wasn't his fault," I repeated, my eyes drifting closed. I heard Jake sigh before he grabbed my uninjured hand and squeezed it gently.

"If it wasn't him, then what caused this panic attack?" I could vaguely hear the desperation in Jake's voice as he begged me to tell him what set me off this time.

I knew it killed him to see me like this which made me feel even worse for doing this to him again. He didn't deserve to have to deal with my problems. But I knew if I told him to leave and let me deal with it by myself, he would refuse and get upset with me for even suggesting it.

"I'm sorry," I croaked, ignoring his question. I peeled my eyelids back so I could look at him.

Jake scoffed at my apology, not even bothering to scold me like he usually does for apologizing for having a panic attack. He was silent for a little bit longer and I worried he was going to press the issue, but thankfully he let it go. He sighed as he glanced back down at my bleeding hand before looking up at my face again.

"Did you take your pills today?" Jake asked, referring to the Lexapro that I was supposed to take every day.

"Yeah," I murmured sleepily, struggling to stay awake.

I knew that just because I took anti-anxiety medication, I could still have panic attacks. Although it normally took some kind of trigger to set me off. That's what the Xanax was for.

"Jake?" Alice asked softly as she came back into the room carrying the first aid kit and hydrogen peroxide.

She handed them wordlessly to Jake, who proceeded to bandage my hand up. The peroxide stung like a bitch, but I was used to the sting considering how many injuries I've gotten in my life.

After Jake had finished wrapping my hand in gauze, I felt the bed shift as he stood back up.

"Sleep Bella," Jake whispered softly.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead before he tucked the blanket around my limp form. I listened to his and Alice's footsteps as they left my room.

Later, I would need to figure out what I was going to tell Alice. She had to be completely confused with the state they found me in. But I would worry about that later. The drowsiness was starting to become too much for me to resist. With a final sigh, I closed my eyes again and snuggled deeper under the blanket, finally letting the Xanax take me into a peaceful sleep.

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**AN: Talk about a major overreaction! Bella has a bit of Survivor's Guilt Syndrome which will be mentioned later, so it should make more sense why she is reacting like this in future chapters. She was also having a nervous breakdown if any of you could tell, which will be explained in the next chapter as well.**

**Again, I am so sorry for the wait! Hopefully it doesn't take me that long to get another chapter out. But it might be a few more weeks until I can update since finals are coming up and I'll be studying my ass off. That's pretty much how I'm going to spend the rest of my day, even though today is my birthday! Fun… **

**Thanks for reading! Please review! :) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note at the bottom. Enjoy!**

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**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight**

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BPOV

I wrinkled my nose as a tickling sensation made itself known. Through the haze in my mind, I vaguely registered a muffled giggling sound. Concluding that it was just a product of my dreams, I blindly pulled the covers up to my chin and snuggled further into the pillows.

I was almost back asleep when that tickling feeling came back with a vengeance, making me wrinkle my nose and grumble incoherently. This time when the giggling started up again, I registered the familiar, feminine sound through my hazy mind.

I groaned and reached my hand up to scratch my noise and get that annoying tickling to go away, but instead, a cold creamy substance hit me in the face.

"What the fuck?" I screeched, bolting upright in bed.

My gaze zeroed in on a spiky-haired pixie, and that boy I unfortunately called brother. They were holding onto each other, seemingly to keep themselves upright as the two of them roared with laughter.

"You—should—have—seen—your face!" Alice laughed, having a hard time getting the words out.

"Oldest trick in the book!" Jake chortled.

My eyes took in the feather he was holding, and the bottle of whipped cream on my dresser, before I reached up and swiped a hand across my face. My hand came back covered in whipped cream just as I suspected it would.

I narrowed my eyes at my brother, who seemed to sober up in response to the stink-eye I was giving him. He knew not to mess with me when I got that look on my face. He held up his hands in a sign of surrender.

"It was just a joke Bells," he tried to placate me. "It's already noon, and when Alice came over to see how you were doing, we decided to wake you up."

"By putting whipped cream on my face?" I growled. Truthfully, I wasn't mad at them. I was actually somewhat amused. But, I wasn't going to tell them that. I turned towards Alice, keeping my hard gaze.

"It was _his_ idea!" Alice pointed at Jake, selling my brother out in a heartbeat. He turned to her with a comical look of incredulity, giving me my perfect opportunity.

I lunged out of bed and grabbed the whipped cream, before either of them realized my intentions. Jake's eyes widened when he saw what was in my hand.

"Bella—" He started. I flicked off the cap on the bottle. "Let's just think about this for a minute."

"Run," I growled, causing both Alice and Jake to bolt out of my room, me hot on their heels.

Alice's tinkling laugh as she rushed down the stairs was contagious, making Jake and me join in with her laughter as well. I took aim with the bottle of whipped cream I was holding in my hand, and fired a stream of the creamy substance at Jake's retreating back. It missed him by inches as he skidded into the kitchen, Alice following close behind.

I aimed the bottle at him again as he wrenched open the refrigerator door and pulled something out, before whipping around to face me. My eyes widened when I saw the ketchup bottle he was holding.

"Don't make me use this," he warned playfully. My eyes narrowed at him.

"You wouldn't dare," I said slowly. He raised his eyebrows at me. Before I could do anything to avoid it, a stream of ketchup hit the front of my top.

"Wouldn't I?" He chuckled.

I looked down at the front of my shirt in disbelief, before looking back up at him. The look on my face must have been a comical one, because he doubled over with laughter at the sight of it.

An inhuman sounding shriek seemed to pull him from his hysterics, and he turned his wide-eyed gaze to Alice. But she wasn't looking at him. She was staring at her obviously designer top. More importantly, she was staring at a splatter of red on the front of it. Jake must have accidentally got her with the spray which he had meant for me alone.

I bit my lip to stifle my amused laughter. Jake started stuttering as he took in the red stain on the front of her shirt and the murderous look on her face.

"You got ketchup on my Versace shirt!" She screeched, with a demonic glint in her eyes. Jake started backing away from her, looking like he was about to piss his pants out of fright.

"It was an accident," Jake tried to reason with her. It didn't work.

Before Jake could react, she had a bottle of chocolate syrup aimed at him. _Where the hell did that come from?_ By the look on Jake's face, I could tell he was thinking the same thing. I swear, that pixie could be a sneaky little thing.

The next thing I knew, there was a full blown food war in the kitchen. Whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and ketchup were flying every which way, us laughing all the while.

It felt good to just loosen up after what happened last night. Yes, I didn't forget what had happened, or how much of an idiot I made myself look. I was simply choosing to ignore it for the time being. And it was working pretty damn well.

The sound of the doorbell ringing cut into my thoughts. I dodged a stream of chocolate syrup, slid under Jake's outstretched arm, and made it to the door. I wrenched the door open, coming face to face with Jasper.

His eyes widened at the sight of me, covered from head to foot with chocolate, ketchup, and whipped cream. But, his eyes zeroed in on my bandaged hand. He opened his mouth, probably to ask what the fuck was going on, when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I ducked just as a surge of ketchup came flying my way. I risked a glance up, and promptly doubled over in laughter when I saw Jasper standing there on the doorstep, ketchup covering his face, and wearing a comical look of shock.

"The fuck?" He asked, bemused.

His voice, saturated in incredulity, made me laugh even harder, if that was possible. It felt like I was going to hack up my spleen if I didn't get the laughter under control. Tears of mirth were running down my cheeks by this time.

"You find this funny?" He asked unnecessarily, seeing as I was currently laughing to the point of pain.

I nodded silently, unable to get a coherent response past my lips. He narrowed his eyes at me playfully, before wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into his side. My chuckles died down and I looked at him confused for a moment, before seeing him swipe a hand across his face to gather the ketchup there. My eyes widened when I realized what he was going to do, and I tried wriggling free, but he just tightened his hold around my waist.

"Nu-uh-uh," he murmured teasingly. "I think some payback's in order."

"I wasn't the one who did it!" I squealed, attempting to squirm away to no avail.

"Hmm, I don't see it that way," he shook his head with a sly grin. "It wouldn't have hit me if you hadn't ducked." He was just about to smear the mess on my face, when he was suddenly hit with another stream of ketchup. I looked up to see Jake and Alice now standing in the living room, Jake pointing the ketchup bottle threateningly at Jasper. I hadn't even realized they followed me into the living room.

"Get your hands off my sister," Jake said, narrowing his eyes at the arm that Jasper still had around my waist. I rolled my eyes. I guessed Jake was pulling the protective older brother card.

Jasper's eyes widened somewhat as he finally glanced up, taking in the full extent of the mess we had made of the inside of the house. But, he didn't have much more time to look around, because he was hit with yet another splatter of ketchup. Looking extremely annoyed by this point, he narrowed his eyes at Jake.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Jake asked slowly. "Hands. Off. My. _Little_. Sister," he ground out, emphasizing the "little."

Alice was glancing back and forth between my brother and Jasper, looking supremely amused. Jasper pulled me even closer into his side and started trailing his hand down my arm slowly, leaving a tingling sensation where he touched me. Jake was not pleased. I swear I heard him growl.

Jasper continued to trail his hand down my arm until he reached my hand, pulling the bottle of whipped cream I was still holding out of it. Before any of us realized what he was doing, he sprayed a line of the whipped cream into Jake's face. And with that, the 'Great Food War' (as I started calling it in my head) was back on!

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We were all sprawled in various positions on the ground, amid the destruction we had caused. I could only imagine how pissed Charlie would be when he came home to find his house had become a dump while he was away. But I couldn't find it in me to worry about that right now.

Maybe it had to do with the position I was currently in. I had my head on Jasper's stomach, with his hand running through my hair. If he kept that up, I would probably start purring like a damn cat. I had no idea what this thing was that I had with him. But, whenever I was around him, he somehow made me forget my shitload of problems.

Jake and Alice were sprawled on the floor as well. I caught them exchanging shy smiles every so often. It was weird seeing the both of them acting so shy, especially after what had just taken place here not so long ago. It was obvious they liked each other, but for some reason they wouldn't come out and say it.

"Sorry about your shirt," I heard Jake say. Alice gave a sad sigh and glanced down at her top, looking pained.

"It's okay," she replied. "I really liked this top though."

Jasper's chest started vibrating with laughter, and I found myself trying to cover my own up. I've never heard someone sound so dejected over a piece of clothing before.

I gazed back up at Jasper, to see him looking at me with a small smile. He rubbed his thumb along my cheekbone, gathering some chocolate syrup that had been there. A hesitant look suddenly crossed his face, as if he wanted to ask me something but was unsure of how I would react. I think I had an idea of what that was about. I bit my lip and decided to try and distract him from that train of thought.

"So, why did you come over anyways?" I asked. It looked like he was trying to find the right way to word whatever it was he was going to say.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. You left so abruptly last night…" his voice trailed off as he looked at me. I could see the worry in his eyes. So much for distracting him from that train of thought… I sighed and shifted my gaze to the ceiling.

"I guess I should probably tell you two what happened back in Arizona," I said, addressing both Jasper and Alice this time.

"Bells—" Jake said softly, but he trailed off when I shook my head. I could tell he was worried about how I would handle telling them about the accident. I felt Jasper squeeze my arm, making me turn my attention back to him. "You don't have to tell us anything," Jasper said seriously. I shook my head again, giving him a small sad smile.

"You both deserve an explanation after how I acted last night," I said with conviction.

He nodded slowly, watching my face carefully. I saw Alice sit up and watch me expectantly, while Jake came over and placed a hand on my shoulder. I smiled at him, grateful for his show of silent support. I took a deep breath and began.

"It was the night of the state championship. My friends and I were cheering with the squad on the sidelines. No one could believe that we actually won when the game was over. I don't think I've ever screamed so much in my life," I smiled slightly at the memory of how excited we all were.

I felt Jasper shift and sit up, pulling me up with him into a sitting position, our backs against the couch. He put an arm around my shoulder and I rested my head against his shoulder. It was like he knew this was going to be tough for me to get out. I was surprised that Jake didn't even protest with the position Jasper had me in. He too was looking at me with only concern. I took another deep breath and continued.

"A bunch of us were going to head over to the quarterback's house to celebrate. There was going to be a huge party and everyone was going to be there. But first, my friends and I needed to change out of our cheerleading uniforms. So, we all headed to my friend's, Chelsea's, house, to change into the clothes we had left there."

I looked down at my lap, realizing that I had started nervously fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. I kept my gaze lowered as I started talking again.

"This necklace," I clutched the locket in my hand as if I was drawing strength from it, "was a gift from Chelsea that night. She gave one to each of us as an early Christmas present. It's actually a locket," I added as an afterthought. "The picture is one we got taken at a photo booth in Paradise Valley mall," I chuckled as I remembered the ridiculous picture the locket held. The sound died quickly though.

"I still haven't been able to open it," I said quietly to myself, almost hoping they wouldn't hear me.

"Anyway," I began again, clearing my throat and trying to get back on topic. "Soon enough we were ready to head to the party, so we all hopped into Chelsea's car."

I squeezed my eyes shut as I realized I was coming up to the painful part of the story. I felt Jasper give my arm a reassuring squeeze. I opened my eyes again and gave him a teary smile in thanks.

The horror and pity on Alice's face made me think that she knew where I was going with this, but she remained quiet thankfully. Interruptions would just make this harder to get out.

"We were stopped at a red light in the left turn lane. We started having fun dancing around to the music that was blasting out of the radio. I can't even remember what song it was," I said softly. I blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. "None of us couldn't have expected what happened next…" I broke off when a sob burst out of my mouth. I put a hand over my mouth to stifle the other sobs that were begging to be released.

By this point, Jasper had his arm wrapped painfully tight around me and was rubbing soothing circles up and down my arm. I drew comfort from this and relaxed slightly into his embrace, allowing my head to fall back onto his shoulder. The warmth from his body seemed to soothe me even more, and it seemed to give me the strength I needed to continue on.

"Once the light turned green," I said, closing my eyes as tears rolled down my cheeks. "Chelsea started making the left turn. We were in the middle of the intersection when it happened."

I felt Jasper wipe some of the tears away with the pads of his thumbs, but it was pointless. More tears only replaced the ones he had removed. Jake gripped my hand and Alice came over to sit beside me, rubbing my back in an effort to help calm me down. The worry in all of their eyes made another lump rise in my throat. I cleared my throat again, and tried to calm my rapidly escalating breathing.

Jake squeezed my hand to get me to look at him. I could see the question in his eyes. He wanted to know if he should get my pills. I shook my head 'no' in response. I _could_ get this out without having another panic attack. I just had to keep telling myself that…

"A car ran a red light and barreled into us," I blurted out, going with the direct approach. "I tried to scream for Chelsea to look out, but it was too late. I woke up in the hospital eight days later."

Jasper was squeezing me a little too tightly now, but I didn't care about that. I was just glad he was here with me.

"You see, I hit my head against the window and got a concussion from the impact. I was in a coma for those eight days."

I lifted a hand and did something I've never done before, except in front of family. I pushed my bangs to the side, and showed them the scar. I heard a sharp intake of air from Alice, but Jasper remained silent. I had to remind myself that he had seen it the day before, when he dropped me off at home. I grimaced at the thought of how I acted that night. I would have to explain about my panic attacks also.

"I got these," I gestured to my side bangs, "to cover the scar up after the accident."

I felt Jasper shift slightly and I looked at him questioningly. Without a word, he lifted his hand up to my face, and pushed my bangs out of the way. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the disgust that was probably on his face, but they snapped back open when he started tracing the scar with his fingers. His eyes were staring deeply into my own.

A throat clearing brought us out of whatever the hell _that_ was, and we turned to look at Jake. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at Jasper.

"What happened to your friends?" I jumped slightly at Alice's soft question. I had forgotten she was there…

"They didn't make it," I choked out, as more tears made their way down my cheeks, before Jasper brushed them away. "I found out later that the seat I was in pretty much saved my life. If I had been sitting anywhere else, I would have died." Jasper pulled me tighter against him at that. "I keep asking myself why I was the one who survived. It should have been one of my other friends. I shouldn't have made it—"

"No!" Jasper growled. I looked at him with wide eyes, but he was glaring at me now. "Don't you start feeling guilty for surviving." His expression softened as he continued to stare at me. "This wasn't your fault, it was an accident."

"Jasper's right Bells," Jake butted in. "It wasn't your fault. It was that stupid boy's fault. If he hadn't been drinking and driving—"

"WHAT?" Alice and Jasper yelled at the same time. I guess I left that out of my story… Jasper looked murderous, so I decided to try and distract him.

"After the accident," I said softly. All of their attention snapped back to me. "I was diagnosed with panic disorder. I'm so pathetic," I spat. Jasper looked like he was going to protest, but I cut him off. "I can't go one week without needing my pills to calm me down. I have attacks whenever I am reminded of the accident, which is what happened last night." I lifted the hand that was bandaged up to emphasize my point. Jasper took my damaged hand gently in both of his.

"I was meaning to ask you what happened to your hand, but I didn't get the chance…" Jasper trailed off, glaring half-heartedly at my brother, clearly remembering being hit in the face with the ketchup. I laughed humorlessly.

"I punched a mirror," I said, as if that explained it all. Jasper opened his mouth, but I jumped up. "We should probably get this mess cleaned up before Charlie comes home," I said hastily, glancing around at the mess we had created. The others stood up as well.

"That's a good idea. We don't want to give poor Dad a heart attack now, do we?" Jake asked.

But, before we had time to start cleaning up, the sound of the front door opening caught our attention. We all exchanged wary looks before hesitantly glancing up. There, in the doorway, stood a shocked Charlie. We watched as his eyes swept across the room, taking in the ketchup splattered walls, the chocolate syrup all over the carpet, the random splotches of whipped cream, before his eyes landed on the four of us. I was starting to get worried by the way his face was rapidly turning red.

"Someone better explain," he ground out. "_Now_!" He emphasized when we all remained quiet.

_Shit. Where to begin?_

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**AN: So, just a bit of nonsense before I decided for them to have a serious conversation about what happened in the last chapter. I'm really curious how you all would react to Jasper finding out about what happened to Bella this way. Does anyone thing it happened too soon? The next chapter will be in Bella's POV again, and then I'll do one in Jasper's POV.**

**Anyways, on a different note: I am so sorry for the really long wait! A few personal things came up and I just didn't have as much time to sit down and write. But, I should have more time now…hopefully. I'm not making any promises. **

**Some of you asked if I will be continuing my stories, and my answer is YES! I don't plan on abandoning any of them. I appreciate you all being so patient with these long waits, and I'll try to update more frequently. I definitely know where I want this story to go, but I am having some issues with Blue Skies at the moment. I hope that bout of writer's block will pass soon. As for my other story, Fading Away, that one might take me longer to update because I'll be concentrating more on this story and Blue Skies.**

**Again, thank you for your patience!**

**~Katie~**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, favorites and alerts! **

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**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight **

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BPOV

"I don't want to hear another word about it!" Charlie yelled, slamming his fist down on the kitchen table. I jumped at the loud noise. "You're going, and that's that!"

I gritted my teeth, knowing it wouldn't do any good to continue protesting. When Charlie was this determined about something, there wasn't much anybody could do to change his mind.

After Charlie walked in on the mess we had created out of the living room, he was furious. It took a while for us to calm him down, and when he did, he kicked Jasper and Alice out so that he could "talk" to us. His talking closely resembled yelling though...

When he started losing steam, he finally noticed my bandaged hand and he slipped into the concerned parent role. I couldn't exactly lie about what happened, since I completely suck at lying, and Jake wasn't coming to my rescue. He kept shooting me those annoyingly sympathetic looks, but he was keeping his mouth shut. So, I had no other option but to tell Charlie the truth.

To say he was shocked would be a huge understatement. I expected for him to yell and for his face to turn that sickly purple color like it normally did when he was angry. What I didn't anticipate was for him to sink into his chair at the kitchen table with a heavy sigh, looking like he had aged ten years in those few moments. He hadn't spoken for several minutes, but when he did, his voice sounded tired.

_Flashback_

"_Bella," Charlie said in a strained tone. "What happened last year must have been horrible for you. Hell, it was horrible for me too! I never want to get another phone call telling me one of my kids is in the hospital again." His voice took on a gruff quality. _

_He scrubbed his hands down his face and released a long sigh, before looking back up at me again. I was starting to get nervous with the way he was looking at me. _

"_I thought those pills would help you handle this better," he continued. "But I can see now that you aren't dealing with this properly." I opened my mouth to protest, even though I knew what he was saying was true, but he held up a hand to stop me from saying anything._

"_I think it's time you saw someone." I raised an eyebrow. Did he honestly think me seeing another doctor would get different results? I had seen so many that I had lost count of them. "I'm talking about a therapist, Bells," He clarified. _

_I balked at that, not believing what I was hearing. I spluttered for a few moments, before I was able to form a complete thought._

"_You want me to see a SHRINK?" I asked in a deceptively calm voice. "I'm not crazy!" _

_I was starting to get angry. So what if I punched a mirror? I'm sure I wasn't the only one to ever do that… Right? Charlie leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his stomach in his "I'm not going to budge on this" position. _

"_I'm not saying you are," he said. "But you need to talk to someone and not keep this all bottled up like you have been doing—" _

"_But I did talk about it," I butted in hastily, "to Alice and Jasper." His weary expression morphed into one of shock. He turned to Jake for confirmation._

"_She did," Jake said with a slight smile. "She didn't even need her pills." Charlie turned back to me with an amazed look on his face. _

"_That's great Bells!" He enthused. "But even so, I think this could really help you." I groaned and dropped my head onto my arms that were resting on the table._

"_I'm dealing with this just fine," I mumbled into my arms._

"_Yeah, I can see that," he said sarcastically, obviously thinking about my damaged hand and the broken mirror in the upstairs bathroom. I lifted my head back up to meet his eyes. _

"_Dad—" I started, throwing in my infamous pout for good measure. He shook his head and looked away, clearly not wanting to be influenced by my puppy dog eyes._

"_No Bells, you're going. End of discussion." His tone rang with a sense of finality, but I wasn't having it. I violently jumped up from the table, causing my chair to scrape loudly against the kitchen tile._

"_This is fucking ridiculous!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in the air for emphasis. _

_Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jake's eyes widen. I was completely shocked by what just flew out of my mouth as well. I never talked to my parents this way, and definitely didn't swear in front of them. Apparently Charlie had had enough of my behavior and declared in a loud, stern voice that I was going and there wasn't anything I could do to change his mind._

_End of flashback_

I clenched my jaw to prevent myself from releasing the shitload of curses that wanted to fly out of my mouth. That would probably just cause more harm than good. So, after Charlie called the psychiatrist's office to set up my appointment, it was settled. I would be going to see a shrink on Monday after school got out. _Just fucking great._

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"You're quiet today," Alice chirped, nudging my shoulder playfully. "Is something wrong?" I blinked and looked up at Alice who was looking at me with obvious concern.

It was now Monday, the dreaded day when I would have to meet the shrink after school let out, and I couldn't think of much else all morning. I had no idea what to expect from this appointment, and was undoubtedly anxious about it. The fact that cheerleading tryouts were also today at lunch, only added to my jumbled thoughts. I wouldn't be surprised if my brain suddenly exploded from all of this over thinking I was doing.

Alice and I had just gotten out of our pre-calc class and were making our way to our lockers. She had tried to engage me in conversation as we walked, so I would throw in an occasional "uh-huh" or "that's cool" without listening to what she was saying. Apparently she noticed my distracted state of mind and felt the need to question me about it.

"Everything's fine," I muttered, giving her a small smile. She raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Bella, has anyone ever told you that you suck at lying?"

"Hey!" I protested. She laughed at my response. But then she grew serious again.

"Spill," she demanded. I sighed, closing and locking my locker before turning back to her.

"Ok fine," I conceded. I looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. There were only a few stragglers hanging around before their next classes would begin. I turned back to her and leaned in conspiratorially.

"My dad's making me see a shrink today after school," I explained quietly. "And I can't seem to think of anything else. Sorry that I've been kinda distracted. Guess I'm just nervous." Alice nodded sympathetically. "Oh and not to mention the cheerleading tryouts today!" She dismissed this concern with a wave of her hand.

"So I take it you have no choice in seeing this psychiatrist?" Alice asked in the same soft tone. I laughed humorlessly.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, if you had any say in this, I don't think you'd be this worried over going." She shrugged as she finished.

"True," I agreed. "I wish I could just skip it, but Charlie would probably find out—" I trailed off in dejection.

"Yeah, he probably would. But hey, maybe this will actually help you," she offered. I groaned and shook my head exasperatedly.

"You're starting to sound like Charlie." She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"You might as well give it a try," she said with a shrug.

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice," I muttered back. She gave me a small smile.

"Now as for the tryouts, I know you'll do great! We've been going over your routine so much, that I'm sure you could do it backwards," she reasoned. "So don't worry so much about it!"

I opened my mouth to tell her that it was easy for _her_ to say. She was one of the judges and didn't have to worry over trying out, but at that moment, she saw something over my shoulder that caused her to smile widely.

"Jasper! Over here!" Alice yelled, waving her hands in the air to get his attention.

I spun around and sure enough, Jasper had spotted us from his position by his locker, and was making his way over. I bit my lip nervously as I watched him heading our way. I hadn't spoken to him since last night when I told Alice and Jasper about what happened in Phoenix and Charlie kicking them out, so I didn't know how he would act around me from now on.

I hoped he wouldn't put on the kiddie gloves and treat me like I could break at any second. That was the one thing I hated back in Phoenix. After the accident, people (even some of my friends and teachers) treated me like I was a fragile piece of rare china. I didn't know why I was so worried that Jasper would react the same way, but for some reason I was. Alice was apparently not treating me any differently, but I couldn't assume Jasper would be the same.

I couldn't help but appreciate the view as he ambled over to us. I mean, the guy was sex on legs! If he noticed me secretly eye-fucking him, he didn't show it. He smiled at us as he stopped beside us. I swear I nearly swooned because of that smile… The effect that guy has on me is almost embarrassing!

"How are my two favorite girls?" Jasper asked, squeezing in between the two of us and slinging his arms around both of our shoulders, tucking us into his sides.

Alice laughed, while I blushed. I couldn't help but feel relieved though. He seemed to slip back into his calm and carefree demeanor. I smiled at that thought.

"You better not let Rose hear you saying that," Alice said in a faux serious tone, raising an eyebrow as she strained to look up at him. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, Rose is in a different category altogether."

"_That's_ true," Alice agreed with a nod, before ducking out from underneath Jasper's arm. "Well, I need to get going to my next class. It's on the opposite side of the building," she explained. But, I could detect a hint of a smirk as she stared at the two of us. _That's odd. _

"Remember Bella, don't worry about the tryouts. You'll be great!" she called over her shoulder.

I hoped she was right about that. I mean, she _did_ work my ass off every day after school to perfect the routine I would be performing in front of the "judges." These judges consisted of Alice (the captain), Lauren (the assistant captain), Bree and Kate (other members of the squad without a leadership position who I hadn't met yet), and Mrs. Denali (the coach).

Breaking out of my thoughts, I realized that Jasper still had his arm around my shoulders. I blushed at this realization.

"I should probably head to my next class too," I said quietly as I stared up at him. He raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Isn't your next class right there?" He asked, gesturing with his free arm towards the door of the classroom a little ways ahead of us.

I blushed a deeper shade of red when I realized he was right. But, I kind of wanted a reason to distance myself from him. My brain seemed to turn to goo whenever he was in close proximity to me.

"Uh yeah," I cleared my throat nervously. "But Mrs. Hernandez can be kinda strict when we aren't in our seats when the bell rings." My excuse sounded lame even to my own ears.

"Live a little," he said good-naturedly. "Hey, I was meaning to ask you if you wanted to see _Scream 4_ Friday night. It's the first night it's going to be out." I wanted to scream "YES" at the top of my lungs, but held back just barely.

"Sure, that sounds fun," I said, and then wanted to hit myself upside the head for replying with such a generic response.

"Cool," he smiled down at me, but we were soon interrupted.

"Hey, stop hogging Bella," a deep voice said, startling me slightly. Jasper glanced up and frowned. _That's a weird response to have… _

I looked up as well, and when I saw Edward and James, I gave them a friendly smile. I was starting to get a little uncomfortable with the way James was staring at me. It was almost _predatory_.

"So Bella," James smirked. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment." He eyed Jasper's arm that was still around my shoulders. "Alone," he emphasized.

Jasper and Edward stared at him with narrowed eyes. I was definitely starting to feel like something wasn't right… What was up with the guys in Forks anyway? I didn't have long to contemplate that because the one minute bell rang, signaling for us to hurry up and get to class. I nearly sighed in relief.

"Uh, I should actually get to class," I said with what I hoped looked like an apologetic smile. I ducked out from under Jasper's arm, gave them a small wave, and walked the short distance to my class.

"Smooth," I heard Edward laugh, probably thinking I couldn't hear him as I pulled open the door to the classroom.

"Shut up," James snapped, sounding supremely annoyed. "If that stupid Bell hadn't rung…"

My forehead creased at the conversation they were having, but the door shut behind me and prevented me from hearing anymore. Now I had something else to think about. _Just what I needed._

I tried to shake these thoughts off, but had little success. Between worrying about seeing the shrink after school, having to try out for the cheerleading team at lunch, and with what I just overheard, my brain felt like it would burst due to information overload. I could picture the headlines now:

"_Local high school student's brain explodes from thinking too much." _

I slumped into my seat with these thoughts swirling around my head. I barely paid attention to Jessica and Mike as they talked about some trip a few people were going to be taking to the beach at La Push, some nearby reservation that happened to be a popular hangout spot. I might have even accidentally agreed to go with them at some point, when I was lost in my own thoughts.

The next two classes flew by, and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. I couldn't help but drag my feet as I headed to the gym for the tryouts. I just hoped that I didn't completely mess it up, or fall flat on my face. Although, I could definitely picture something embarrassing like that happening to me… I took a deep breath as I reached the gym. It was now or never… With another deep breath, I pushed open the double doors, dreading what was to come.

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**AN: I tried to get this out yesterday, but some things came up, so it's out a day late. Sorry about that! I honestly tried…**

**If you haven't already seen it, there is a poll on my profile. I wanted to see which story you all want me to focus more on, so if you have a minute, please go vote. I won't be giving up on any of my stories, but whichever one wins will have my main focus.**

**Also, I am starting to put on my profile which story I am currently working on and the date it should be posted. So if any of you want to know, you can find that on my profile. **

**Please review and let me know what you think! **

**~Katie~**


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